Prices that people pay for a variety of goods and services rose less than expected in September, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Friday that is the only official economic data allowed to be released during the government shutdown.
The consumer price index showed a 0.3% increase on the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 3%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for respective readings of 0.4% and 3.1%. The annual rate reflected a 0.1 percentage point uptick from August.
Excluding food and energy, core CPI showed a 0.2% monthly gain and an annual rate also at 3%, compared to respective estimates of 0.3% and 3.1%, the latter being unchanged from a month ago. Core CPI on a monthly basis had posted 0.3% gains in both July and August.
A 4.1% jump in gasoline prices was the largest contributor to a report that otherwise showed inflation pressures fairly muted. Food prices showed a 0.2% increase. Commodity prices overall rose 0.5%. On an annual basis, energy was up 2.8% and food rose 3.1%.
Within the food index, prices for meat, poultry, fish and eggs surged 5.2% in the past year, while nonalcoholic beverages increased 5.3%. In energy, while electricity (up 5.1%) and natural gas (11.7%) prices pushed higher over the past year, gasoline actually fell 0.5% during the period.
