A closely-watched measure of US inflation showed the annual pace of price increases slowed slightly in August as energy costs fell and increases in food costs eased, according to government data released Friday. But while the data moved in the right direction, it may not provide much comfort to President Joe Biden or the Federal Reserve since inflation remains at the highest level since the early 1980s. The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, increased 6.2 percent from August 2021, down slightly from the pace in July and from the 7.0 percent peak in June, the Commerce Department reported. Inflation picked up speed last year and has accelerated this year as global supply chain snarls and worker shortages pushed prices higher — factors worsened by Russia’s war on Ukraine, which sent food and energy prices soaring worldwide. Energy prices increased 24.7 percent over the past year while food prices are up 12.4 percent, the report showed. The Fed focuses on the PCE price index as it reflects consumers’ actual spending, including shifts to lower cost items, unlike the more well-known consumer price index (CPI), which also slowed in August from the blistering 9.1 percent rate in June — the highest in 40 years.