Rising gas prices are pushing annual inflation to 3.7% – the second consecutive increase THIS YEAR – but experts insist interest rates will remain stable
Inflation in the US rose for the second month in a row to 3.7 percent on an annual basis – up from 3.2 percent in August.
Prices rose 0.6 percent month-on-month compared to August, mainly due to a jump in gas prices – which accounted for more than half of the increase.
Shelter costs also contributed to the increase, rising for the 40th month in a row.
The consumer price index report comes a week before the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting.
But despite the acceleration in inflation, the Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates stable while deciding whether a further rate hike will be needed later this year to combat inflation.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile prices including food and energy and is considered a better gauge of long-term trends, remained broadly mild.
Monthly core inflation rose 0.3 percent in August, up marginally from a 0.2 percent increase in July.
For the 12 months ending in August, core inflation slowed to 4.3 percent, compared with 4.7 percent last month.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.