Inflation remained elevated in August even as the pace of consumer price growth from a year ago remains elevated, as the Federal Reserve considers a potential interest rate hike next month.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said on Wednesday that the consumer price index (CPI) – a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost – increased 0.4% on a monthly basis and is up 3.4% from a year ago.
Those figures were in line with the estimates of economists polled by LSEG. The monthly data follows a reading of 0.1% in July, while the annual figure is unchanged from last month’s reading.
So-called core prices, which exclude volatile measurements of gasoline and groceries to better assess price growth trends, were up 0.3% from a month ago and are 2.4% higher year over year. The monthly figure was slightly hotter than the LSEG estimate, while the annual figure was in line with expectations.
The monthly figure represents a slight uptick after price growth was up 0.2% in July, while the annual figure is slightly cooler than last month’s 2.5% reading.
INFLATION COOLED IN JULY BUT REMAINED ELEVATED AS FED WEIGHS RATE HIKES
