The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced the Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers today. This data indicated that CPI was up 0.4% month-over-month in September on a seasonally-adjusted basis, higher than the median forecast of 0.3%.
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Core CPI stood at 0.6% in September, above expectations of 0.4%.
Over a period of twelve months, the CPI index rose to 8.2% before seasonal adjustment, again above forecasts of 8.1%.
Higher food, home, and medical care prices continued to drive the index higher and were the three of largest contributors. The food index continued to increase, up 0.8% over the month of September as the food at home index rose 0.7%.
Moreover, a real earnings report by the BLS released today showed that real average hourly earnings for all employees declined 0.1% in September.
This data indicates that inflation continues to remain a problem even as the Fed continues to hike interest rates. Yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting minutes indicated that the central bank isn’t done raising interest rates. It wants to make sure that inflation is well on its way to 2% before it becomes more dovish.
