Monthly U.S consumer prices unexpectedly rose in August as declining gasoline prices were offset by gains in the costs of rent and food, giving cover for the Federal Reserve to deliver another hefty interest rate increase next Wednesday.
The consumer price index gained 0.1% last month after being unchanged in July, the Labor Department said on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI dipping 0.1%.
In the 12 months through August, the CPI increased 8.3%. That was deceleration from the July’s 8.5% rise. The annual CPI peaked at 9.1% in June, which was the biggest gain since November 1981.
Overall inflation is slowing as goods prices retreat after surging earlier this year amid a loosening of bottlenecks in global supply chains and a shift in spending back to services.