US inflation rose 3.7% in September — higher than economists predicted

Published

1 year ago

October 27, 2023

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US inflation rose 3.7% in September, more than economists expected and still well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, as the central bank weighs whether to hike interest rates again by year’s end.

The reading for the Consumer Price Index a closely watched measure of inflation that tracks changes in the costs of everyday goods and services matches the reading in August, and is slightly above the 3.6% advance that economists expected, according to data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Thursday.

On a monthly basis, inflation slowed to 0.4% from 0.6% in August, partly because of lower pressure from energy prices.

However, core CPI a number that excludes volatile food and energy prices and serves as a closely watched gauge among policymakers for long-term trends held steady at 0.3% month to month and rose 4.1% from a year ago, in line with expectations.

Though September’s CPI is also a cooldown from inflation’s 9.1% peak in June 2022, it still remains well above the Fed’s 2% goal. Stock futures dropped ahead of the market opening as traders increased their bets of another rate hike to around 50%, up from 30% earlier this week.

“The bigger picture is that the trend is still quite encouraging, but the fight continues,” said Olu Sonola, head of US regional economics at Fitch Ratings in New York. “They [Fed officials] may now want to extend the pause to December, given the recent increase in long-term rates.”

The gasoline index’s 2.1% advance was also a large contributor to the CPI, the data showed, though the federal agency said shelter’s 0.2% increase accounted for over half of the increase.

Gasoline experienced an eye-watering 10.6% increase last month, when AAA figures showed that the average price for a gallon of gas was $3.85.

As of Thursday, a gallon of gas in the US averages $3.65, according to AAA.

While many investors had been willing to look past the volatile energy numbers, a surprisingly resilient labor market has some worried that inflation could be more stubborn.

September’s employment report revealed that the US economy added a whopping 336,000 jobs last month — an unexpected surge that contradicts the notion the Fed may tamp down its aggressive tightening regime.

The blowout number was nearly double the 170,000 jobs economists had expected, and also sharply higher than an upwardly revised 227,000 jobs added in August, according to fresh data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last week.

The news sent yields on US Treasury bonds to their highest levels in 16 years and sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average into the red for 2023.

Since inflation hit a four-decade peak last summer, the central bank has worked to bring the stubborn figure down by hiking rates another 25 basis points to a 22-year high in August in hopes of an economic slowdown.

The benchmark federal funds rate currently sits between 5.25% and 5.5%. Last month, Fed officials unanimously decided to hold the record-high rate steady for the second time in six policy meetings so far this year.

But thanks to a strong labor market, the US economy has avoided a downturn, and even the Fed has said its no longer predicting the economy will slip into a recession by the end of the year.

“We must wait for more data to see if this is just a blip or if there is something more fundamental driving the increase such as higher rent increases in larger cities offsetting softer increases in smaller cities,” said US Bank of America Securities economist Stephen Juneau.

“When deciding whether to raise rates one last time this year, the FOMC will be asking whether inflation needs another nudge or if its getting to 2% on its own. Its increasingly looking like the latter,” NerdWallet data analyst Elizabeth Renter told The Post.

“The Fed, astheyreall too happy to remind us, is laser focused on getting inflation down to 2%.”

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said central bankers will be taking a data-dependent approach moving forward, leaving more interest rate hikes before years end up in the air.

Markets were spooked ahead of the jobs report, falling more than 1% when the Labor Department released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, which showed job openings increased to 9.61 million in August up from 8.9 million in July.

With Post wires.

Sports

Brayden Schenn joins brother with 1,000th game

Published

49 mins ago

February 28, 2025

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Brayden Schenn joins brother with 1,000th game

Associated Press

Feb 27, 2025, 08:59 PM ET

WASHINGTON — Brayden Schenn played his 1,000th regular-season NHL game when he and the St. Louis Blues beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Thursday night.

Older brother Luke played his 1,000th game Oct. 17 with the Nashville Predators. The Schenns are the eighth set of brothers to each reach that milestone and the first to do so in the same season.

“I’ve always said you don’t get there without the help of tons of people,” Brayden said after his team’s morning skate. “Family being one and coaches and players and teammates and people in the organization. Obviously, you have to embrace the day-to-day grind of the ups and downs and just how hard this league is, but, yeah, pretty special that we have best buddies that push each other every day and get to do it in the same year.”

Blues players celebrated the occasion with Schenn shirts and hats with the captain’s No. 10 on them. Father Jeff gave a pregame speech in the locker room after coach Jim Montgomery said, “Schenner and his bro both getting 1,000 games in the same season is a tribute to the great family raised by Jeff and his wife.”

Jeff Schenn said Brayden was his favorite player on the Blues and tied for his favorite overall, of course, with Luke.

“Honored and privileged and very proud to be part of the big day and the big journey that goes along with it,” their dad said. “You see the hard work and the dedication and the bumps and the bruises and everything you guys put into it. … Just so excited and happy to be here and awful proud of him.”

Montgomery said after the win that Jeff Schenn looked very comfortable speaking in front of the group.

“Jeff and his wife, Brayden’s parents, they raised four great kids and two have played 1,000 games in the NHL,” Montgomery said. “His message was well-received, and you could tell by our start that we wanted to play for our captain.”

Dylan Holloway, who scored twice, said because it was Schenn’s 1,000th game, the Blues “wanted this one bad.”

The Capitals acknowledged the milestone with a message on arena videoboards and an announcement during the first period.

Brayden getting to 1,000 comes amid talk ahead of the March 7 trade deadline that teams are interested in acquiring both of them in separate moves. The Blues are on the fringe of the playoff race in the Western Conference, while the Predators are far out of contention.

“The times I’ve gotten traded, I didn’t expect to get traded, so you really never know,” Brayden said, adding he has loved his time with St. Louis. “It’s a business and that just comes with the flows of kind of where we’re positioned, five points out of the playoffs. But it’s the trade deadline, so some people make rumors. … You just take it a day at a time and just focus on your game and play.”

Brayden, 33, has three years left on his contract at an annual salary cap hit of $6.5 million. Luke, 35, has one more season left after this one at $2.75 million.

The Schenn brothers have played together in the NHL before, spending 3½ seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2013 to 2015. Brayden won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, then Luke back to back with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

Sports

Pens’ Bunting out indefinitely after appendectomy

Published

49 mins ago

February 28, 2025

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Pens' Bunting out indefinitely after appendectomy

Field Level Media

Feb 27, 2025, 02:49 PM ET

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Michael Bunting is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix.

“He’ll be out here for the next little while,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday. “I don’t know the time frame at this point, but that’s that.”

Bunting notched an assist in Pittsburgh’s 6-1 setback to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. He has 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists) and a minus-18 rating in 58 games this season.

Bunting, 29, has totaled 210 points (90 goals, 120 assists) and a plus-10 rating in 326 career games with the Arizona Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes and Penguins.

Sports

Bruins F Frederic (lower body) week-to-week

Published

49 mins ago

February 28, 2025

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Bruins F Frederic (lower body) week-to-week

Field Level Media

Feb 27, 2025, 12:36 PM ET

Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, the team announced.

Frederic sustained the injury during the Bruins’ 5-4 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. The timing of the injury is significant for Frederic, who is considered an attractive candidate to be shopped ahead of the NHL trade deadline on March 7.

A pending unrestricted free agent, Frederic has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) and a minus-14 rating in 57 games this season.

Those totals are a far cry from his career season in 2023-24, when he totaled 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) and a plus-9 rating in 82 games.

Frederic, 27, has totaled 109 points (55 goals, 54 assists) and a plus-20 rating in 337 career games since being selected by the Bruins with the 29th overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft.