Pinned
U.S. inflation edged only slightly higher in September, as the Federal Reserve prepares to lower interest rates again next week to shore up the labor market.
The Consumer Price Index, released 10 days late by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, rose 3 percent from the same time last year. That is the fastest annual pace since the start of the year and marks a small rise from the previous 2.9 percent level. “Core” inflation, which the central bank tracks as a gauge of underlying inflation since it strips out volatile items like energy and food prices, eased slightly to 3 percent. In August, it registered a 3.1 percent pace.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices overall rose 0.3 percent. “Core” goods and services rose only 0.2 percent. Economists had been expecting slightly more intense price pressures.
The delay in the release of the data stemmed from the government shutdown, which is now in its fourth week. The lapse in funding had forced the Bureau of Labor Statistics to suspend all operations, including the release of the monthly jobs report and any future data collection.
On Friday, Karo
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