Thursday shows that the rate of price increases over the previous year unexpectedly increased in September as policymakers considered their next move on interest rates.
A seasonally adjusted 0.2% increase in the consumer price index for the month brought the annual inflation rate to 2.4%.
The index is a broad indicator of the pricing of goods and services across the U.S. economy. The two figures exceeded the Dow Jones consensus by 0.1 percentage point.
When food and energy are taken out of the equation, core prices rose 0.3% month over month, for an annual pace of 3.3%. The two core measurements exceeded the prediction by 0.1 percentage point as well.
A 0.4% increase in food prices and a 0.2% increase in housing costs accounted for a large portion of the increase in inflation, or more than three-quarters of the whole increase.
It compensated for a 1.9% decrease in energy costs. The cost of new cars increased by 0.2% and that of used cars by 0.3%, among other factors that contributed to the gain. Healthcare costs increased by 0.7%, while clothing costs increased by 1.1%.
The announcement coincides with the start of benchmark interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve. Following a September drop of half a percentage point, While it’s still unclear how quickly and how much, the central bank is predicted to keep cutting.
Source (CNBC)
