Inflation overall in August rose by 0.4% month-over-month to an annual rate of 3.4%, which was unchanged from July.
But core inflation, which excludes food and recently-soaring energy costs, rose 0.3%, which was slightly more than the 0.2% expected by economists. That core inflation reading will likely set the stage for a Federal Reserve rate hike during the central bank’s next meeting.
“The index for gasoline rose 3.9 percent in August, accounting for over one third of the monthly all items increase,” the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a news release.
The BLS said that food costs increased by 2.1% in August, and shelter costs ticked up 0.3%,
That data may already be stale, however. On Friday, U.S. crude oil traded around $100 per barrel and international Brent crude oil traded at about $105 per barrel. Those levels are about 20% higher than the middle of August.