The News
US inflation is still cooling, but not as quickly as expected.
The Consumer Price Index — a key inflation indicator that measures the cost of goods and services — slowed in September to an annual 2.4%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. While that metric shows a decline from August — good news for the economy — it missed market expectations by 0.1%.
Federal Reserve officials have expressed confidence in recent speeches that inflation will soon reach the central bank’s goal of 2%. The greater concern is to avoid stoking unemployment while reaching that target.
After summer data showed the jobs market was weaker than previously believed, September hiring exceeded expectations, indicating the Fed is on track to achieve its “soft landing,” the Labor Department reported last week. However, the two back-to-back hurricanes hitting the US may put a damper on those numbers. New data shows jobless claims climbed after Hurricane Helene, which devastated the nation’s southeast in late September. Hurricane Milton hit Florida on Wednesday, and it is too early to calculate its impact on the jobs market.