Inflation Rate Hit 2.4% in September, Topping Expectations; Jobless Claims Highest since August 2023

• The pace of price increases over the past year was higher than forecast in September, while jobless claims posted an unexpected jump following Hurricane Helene and the Boeing strike, the Labour Department reported Thursday.
• The consumer price index, a broad gauge measuring the costs of goods and services across the U.S. economy, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 2.4%. Both readings were 0.1 percentage points above the Dow Jones consensus.
• The annual inflation rate was 0.1 percentage points lower than August and is the lowest since February 2021. Excluding food and energy, core prices increased 0.3% in the month, putting the annual rate at 3.3%. Both core readings were also 0.1 percentage points above forecast.
• Much of the inflation increase — more than three-quarters of the move higher — came from a 0.4% jump in food prices and a 0.2% gain in shelter costs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in the release that offset a 1.9% fall in energy prices.
• A separate report Thursday showed weekly jobless claims hitting a 14-month high, indicating potential softness in the labor market despite the big jump in nonfarm payrolls in September. However, most of the surge could be tied to the hurricane and strike. Goolsbee said the data is largely in line with Fed expectations and shouldn’t be viewed in isolation as having an outsized influence on policy.
• The jobless claims figures follow the damage from Hurricane Helene, which struck Sept. 26 and impacted a large swath of the Southeast. Florida and North Carolina, two of the hardest-hit states, posted a combined increase of 12,376, according to unadjusted data. A strike by 33,000 Boeing workers also could be hitting the numbers. Michigan had the largest gain in claims, up 9,490 on the week.

(Source: Reuters)