The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge cooled as expected in January; however, the good news came with another potential red flag for the US economic engine: Consumers pulled back their spending by the most in nearly four years.

Inflation in the Federal Reserve’s preferred price gauge eased in January after making steady increases throughout the fall. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased by

Thomas Ryan, an economist at Capital Economics, attributed the decline in part to “unseasonably severe winter weather,” but warned that the Fed’s job will become “trickier if January’s sharp decline in consumption was a sign of consumer strength buckling.”

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge eased modestly last month, but personal-spending figures showed one of the biggest pullbacks in more than a year, suggesting further weakness in the domestic economy.