Consumer prices in the US rose 3.4% year-over-year in August, matching July’s reading exactly and landing right on economists’ forecasts. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the data on September 11, just days before the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision, giving policymakers one last inflation snapshot before they decide whether to hike rates again.
Gasoline did the heavy lifting
On a monthly basis, the CPI climbed 0.4% in August, the steepest single-month jump in three months. Gasoline prices surging 3.9% accounted for more than a third of that increase on their own.
Broader energy costs rose 2.1% for the month.
Core CPI rose 0.3% month-over-month but its annual pace actually ticked down to 2.4% from 2.5% in July.
