Higher food prices lift US consumer prices; Hurricane Helene boosts jobless claims

Published Oct 11, 2024

Tridge summary

US consumer prices rose slightly more than expected in September due to higher food costs, but the annual inflation increase was the smallest in over 3.5 years. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates again next month. First-time unemployment applications surged last week, boosted by Hurricane Helene and a strike at Boeing. The consumer price index increased 0.2% in September, with food prices jumping 0.4% and gasoline prices plunging 4.1%. Rents increased 0.3% and the annual inflation rise was 2.4%. Financial markets predict a 25 basis points rate cut at the Fed's November policy meeting.
Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

WASHINGTON (Oct 10): US consumer prices rose slightly more than expected in September amid higher food costs, but the annual increase in inflation was the smallest in more than 3-1/2 years, keeping the Federal Reserve on track to cut interest rates again next month. Other data from the Labor Department on Thursday showed first-time applications for unemployment benefits surged last week to the highest level in more than a year, boosted by Hurricane Helene and a nearly four-week-old strike at Boeing, which has forced the US planemaker to furlough workers and impacted suppliers. The strike and hurricanes could distort the labor market picture this month. Despite the firmer-than-expected monthly inflation reading last month, a sharp moderation in rent increases led economists to expect a more muted rise in the main inflation measures tracked by the US central bank for its 2% target. "The September CPI rose more than expected, but the details do not suggest enough acceleration to sway ...
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