US consumer inflation continued to ease last month

Minneapolis : US consumer price inflation cooled down in October after rising for the last two months, a media report said. The Consumer Price Index rose 3.2 per cent for the 12 months that ended in October, down from 3.7 per cent in September, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday, CNN reported.

On a monthly basis, prices were unchanged for the first time since July 2022. A month before, they shot up 0.4 per cent as gas and rent costs added upward pressure. Economists anticipated a 0.1 per cent monthly increase and a 3.3 per cent year-over-year gain, according to Refinitv consensus estimates, CNN reported.

There also was positive news on the underlying inflation front. Core CPI, which excludes the more volatile food and energy categories, climbed 0.2 per cent monthly, bringing the annual increase to 4 per cent, which is the lowest yearly increase since September 2021.

The index cooled from the prior month, when core CPI rose 0.2 per cent monthly and 4.1 per cent annually, CNN reported.