WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Year-over-year core inflation rose a record low of 0.9% in October, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Federal Reserve officials, worried about too-low inflation, have embarked on a program of buying up to $600 billion in Treasury securities to underpin the U.S. economic recovery.

For September, the year-over-year rate for core personal consumption expenditures, which exclude food and energy, gained 1.2%. The data go back to 1960.

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“With inflation ‘too low for comfort,’ this reading will give further ammunition to the Fed’s defense” of its $600 billion bond-buying plan, wrote IHS Global Insight economist Chris Christopher.

The Commerce Department also reported Wednesday that personal income rose 0.5% in October, compared with 0.3% growth expected by economists polled by MarketWatch. In September, person income didn’t change.

Consumers’ spending gained 0.4% in October, matching Wall Street’s expectations. For September, spending increased 0.3%.

Real disposable income rose 0.3% in October. In September, real disposable income fell 0.2%.

“As consumers make up 70% of the economy, a strong showing in October puts the economy on very solid footing for the end of the year, and the beginning of next year,” Christopher wrote.

The personal consumption expenditure price index rose 0.2% in October, after a gain of 0.1% gain in September. This inflation gauge is up 1.3% in the past year.

There was no change in the core PCE index for October, as expected by economists. See economic calendar.

Some analysts are concerned that the Fed’s bond-buying program, begun earlier this month, could lead to higher inflation.