Despite a drop in gas prices, August’s consumer price index increased 0.1% sequentially and 8.3% over the past year. Moreover, the inflation numbers indicate a broad-based problem, as inflation excluding food and energy or the core inflation rose 0.6% for the month, pulling year-over-year cost-of-living increases up 6.3%.
The Federal Reserve is expected to hit back with another massive interest rate hike next week. “The Fed is all but sure to hike rates aggressively next week, likely by 75 basis points while pushing back strongly against talk of a near-term pause in the tightening cycle,” said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.
