The Labor
Department announced on Thursday the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) increased 0.2
per cent m-o-m in September, the same pace as in
the previous month.
Over the last
12 months, the CPI rose by 2.4 per cent y-o-y, easing from an unrevised gain of 2.5 per cent y-o-y reported for the period
ending in August. This was the weakest 12-month advance since February 2021 (+1.7 per cent).
Economists had forecast
the U.S. CPI to increase 0.1 per cent m-o-m and 2.3 per cent y-o-y.
According to
the report, increases in the index for shelter (+0.2 per cent m-o-m) and the
index for food (+0.4 per cent m-o-m) contributed over 75 per cent of the
monthly gain in the index for all items. Meanwhile, the energy index posted a
decline (-1.9 per cent m-o-m).
The core CPI,
excluding volatile food and fuel costs, jumped 0.3 per cent m-o-m in September, the same
pace as in the previous month.
In the 12
months through September, the core CPI surged by 3.3 per cent, following an unrevised 3.2 per cent soar for the 12 months ending August. This represented
the strongest 12-month increase in three months.
Economists
had expected the core CPI to advance by 0.2 per cent m-o-m and 3.2 per cent
y-o-y in September.