U.S. inflation accelerated last month as gas, clothes, and air fares got more expensive, evidence that rising prices remain an economic challenge just a few weeks before the midterm elections.
The consumer price index rose 3.7% in September compared with a year ago, the Labor Department said Wednesday, up from 3.4% in August. On a monthly basis, costs jumped 0.6% from August to September, up from 0.4% the previous month.
The figures underscore the lingering impact of the Iran war on gas prices and the stubborn persistence of inflation, which fell sharply from a 9.1% peak in 2022 but this year has ticked higher since the war began in late February. Elevated inflation has posed political problems for Republicans in Congress and is a challenge for the Federal Reserve, which is required by Congress to seek stable prices.
Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.6% in September from a year ago, up from 2.4% the previous month. And they climbed 0.3% from August to September, the same as the previous month.
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