US government data shows the country’s consumer price index climbed 2.4 percent last month from a year earlier. But it also shows the pace of the rise declined for the sixth straight month.
The Labor Department said on Thursday that the increase in the all-items index for September was 0.1 percentage point lower than in the previous month, posting the smallest gain since February 2021.
The index for all items excluding food and energy grew 3.3 percent, up 0.1 point from the previous month.
Federal Reserve policymakers set a steep interest rate cut of half a percentage point at their meeting last month.
But minutes from the Fed gathering published on Wednesday show that some participants preferred a quarter-point reduction.
The document says they noted that “inflation was still somewhat elevated while economic growth remained solid and unemployment remained low.”
A growing number of market players speculate that the Fed will decide on a quarter-point cut at next month’s meeting. Some are even thinking the rates will remain unchanged.