Consumer prices in the United States increased less than expected last October, and it appears that the core inflation rate has peaked. Consequently, this should allow the US Federal Reserve to moderate future rates hike decisions.
The consumer price index increased by 0.4% last month, the same rate of increase as September, according to the Labor Department on Thursday.
Polled experts by Reuters expected the index to increase 0.6%.
The index slowed its growth last October, only increasing 7.7% in 12 months rather than the 8.2% seen the previous September.
The consumer price index’s annual increase has fallen below 8% for the first time since last February.
CPI increased by 9.1% in June from the previous year, the highest since November 1981
The CPI, excluding energy and food prices (which are volatile), increased only 0.3% last month–a significant decrease from September’s 0.6% increase.
The core CPI increased 6.3% in the 12 months leading up to last October and then rose again by 6.6% year on year in September.
As the US Federal Reserve continues its efforts to fight inflation by raising interest rates (already increasing 6 times this year), these numbers have been released.
US stocks open sharply higher
After the data was released, the dollar index fell sharply to 108.5 points, and gold prices similarly skyrocketed to $1,741 an ounce.
Wall Street’s main stock indexes significantly rose on Thursday morning after data showed an increase in consumer prices, which led investors to believe that the US Federal Reserve may not need to raise interest rates as much as expected in the future.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial index closed up 749.97 points (2.31%), while
the S&P 500 gained 500 points (2.97%). The Nasdaq composite finished the day 4.98% higher
