U.S. consumer inflation eases more than expected in August

The headline rate of U.S. consumer inflation eased more than expected last month, according to government data published Wednesday, bolstering expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.
A rate cut by the independent US central bank would act to boost demand in the world’s largest economy. That would give the Democratic party some good economic news to run on going into the final stretch of the 2024 presidential elections.
The consumer price index (CPI) slowed to 2.5 percent in August from a year ago, down from 2.9 percent in July and the lowest annual figure since February 2021, the Labor Department said in a statement.
This was slightly below the median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
Monthly inflation picked up by 0.2 percent, in line with expectations.