Measures of U.S. inflation in September showed that the pace of price increases is still grinding lower, though at a slow and uneven pace, the Associated Press reports.
Consumer prices in the U.S. increased 0.4% from August to September, below the previous month’s 0.6% pace. Today’s report from the Labor Department also showed that year-over-year inflation in September was unchanged from a 3.7% rise in August.
Underlying inflation declined a bit last month. So-called “core” prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, climbed 4.1% in September from 12 months earlier, down from a 4.3% annual pace in August. That is the smallest such increase in the core measure in two years.
Still, on a month-to-month basis, prices are continuing to rise faster than is consistent with the Fed’s 2% target. Core prices increased 0.3% from August to September, the same as in the previous month.
The main driver of last month’s inflation was an uptick in housing costs. Rental prices and a measure that the government computes of the cost of home ownership, which together make up about a third of the total inflation index, accounted for most of overall inflation from August to September. Those costs also accounted for more than two-thirds of the increase in core prices.
Rental prices rose 0.5% on a monthly basis for a second straight month. Measured year over year, rental costs are up 7.4%, down from a 7.8% rise in August.
Higher gas prices also helped drive inflation for a second straight month. Those prices rose 2.1% just from August to September, after a 10.6% surge the previous month.
Consumers did receive some relief from clothing prices. They dropped 0.8% last month and are up 2.3% compared with a year earlier. Used car prices dropped for a fourth straight month, declining 2.5%. They’re now down 8% from a year ago.
Grocery prices, after soaring last year, have cooled. They ticked up just 0.1% from August to September and are 2.4% higher than they were a year ago.
