The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the inflation measure the Federal Reserve targets most closely, rose 3.7% year over year in July, up from 3.6% in June, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday, coming in a touch stronger than economists had expected. Core PCE, which strips out volatile food and energy prices and is viewed as the cleaner read on underlying inflation pressure, held at 3.3% year over year, showing no improvement from the prior month.