{"id":16412,"date":"2025-09-11T18:04:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T18:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/16412\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T18:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T18:04:10","slug":"us-inflation-data-consumer-prices-rise-to-2-9-in-august-core-inflation-hits-3-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/16412\/","title":{"rendered":"US inflation data: Consumer prices rise to 2.9% in August, core inflation hits 3.1%"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"US US consumer inflation rose to 2.9% in August, its highest since January, as prices of gas, groceries and airfares jumped, according to the Labor Department. The figures come just ahead of next week\u2019s Federal Reserve meeting, where policymakers are expected to cut interest rates despite persistent price pressures.The consumer price index (CPI) was up from 2.7% in July, while core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy costs, held steady at 3.1%. Both readings remain above the Fed\u2019s 2% target. On a monthly basis, inflation quickened to 0.4% in August from 0.2% in July, with gas prices up 1.9%, grocery costs up 0.6% and airfares surging 5.9%, AP reported.The inflation print is the last major data point before the Fed\u2019s two-day meeting beginning Tuesday, where officials are widely expected to lower the benchmark rate from 4.3% to about 4.1%. But the central bank is in a difficult position, balancing stubborn inflation with clear signs of labour market weakness.The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3% in August, while jobless claims rose sharply by 27,000 to 263,000 \u2014 the highest in nearly four years. \u201cConsumer inflation came in mildly hotter than forecast, but not nearly high enough to prevent the Fed from starting to cut rates next week,\u201d Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist for Nationwide, told AP. \u201cThe labour market is losing steam and reinforces that the Fed needs to start cutting rates next week and that it will be the start of a series of rate reductions.\u201dEconomists said rising layoffs and slowing hiring reinforce the case for monetary easing. Yet inflationary pressures \u2014 partly driven by President Donald Trump\u2019s sweeping tariffs on imports \u2014 could restrain the Fed from cutting rates aggressively.Prices of clothing, furniture, appliances and rentals all rose in August, while hotel room tariffs were up 2.3%. Food costs continued to climb, with tomatoes, apples and beef leading the gains.The latest inflation data has also added to political tensions. Trump, who has pushed for deeper cuts, recently attempted to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook, though a court blocked the move and allowed her to retain her position while the case proceeds.Businesses large and small are grappling with higher costs. Raleigh-based restaurant owner Cheetie Kumar said her input prices are up 10% from last year, with coffee costs tripling and spices doubling. \u201cThose are things I cannot source locally \u2026 I don\u2019t know any nutmeg growers in North Carolina,\u201d she said.Cosmetics maker E.L.F. said it raised prices by $1 earlier this year, but CFO Mandy Fields admitted last month it is unclear if that will be enough to offset tariff costs. Retailers such as Home Depot and Macy\u2019s have described their price hikes as modest, though Walmart has warned of further increases as inventories are replenished.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US consumer inflation rose to 2.9% in August, its highest since January, as prices of gas, groceries and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[18415,138,18413,18414,219,18412,111,139,69,9561],"class_list":{"0":"post-16412","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-august-inflation-rate","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-consumer-prices-rise","11":"tag-core-inflation","12":"tag-economy","13":"tag-federal-reserve-rate-cut","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz","17":"tag-us-inflation-data"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}