Inflation Measures a Mixed Bag
October 14, 2024
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has released the latest consumer price index report.
The core inflation rate in September came in a bit higher than forecast, at 2.4%, though the annual inflation rate was 0.1 percentage point lower than August and is the lowest in years, since February 2021. The Federal Reserve goal is to get back to a 2% inflation rate.
Unemployment benefits also increased in September, and revealed a bigger-than-expected uptick of 258,000 against the forecast of 230,000, the highest level in more than a year.
Recent PPI numbers were also released, and this key inflation gauge decreased last month. The Producer Price Index, a measure of average producer and manufacturer price changes, came in at 1.8% for the year that ended in September, a slight decrease from the 1.9% gain in August, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics data.