US prices rise in September as midterm elections loom

The Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, has indicated further increases to interest rates are likely as inflation remains high. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

The cost of goods and services in the US continued to go up in September, and though the rate of price increases is starting to temper, high inflation persists as the midterm elections in November approach.

The consumer price index (CPI), released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed on Thursday that prices in September were 8.2% higher compared to prices in September 2021. The figure is another decline in the inflation rate seen during the three months since June, when the rate peaked at 9.1%, the highest in more than 40 years.