US inflation accelerated again in September, beating market expectations📈The S&P 500 index is weakening📉
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.7% year-over-year, after 3.4% in August. Wall Street expected 3.6%. Month-over-month, prices rose 0.6%, while in August it was 0.4%.
The main driver of inflation was fuel, whose prices rose 9.1% over the month. The average price of gasoline in the US reached a record $4.33 per gallon in September. That is almost $0.50 more than the previous monthly high from 2023.
For investors, however, core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices and which the Fed watches more closely, is more important. It accelerated to 2.6% year-over-year from 2.4% in August. Month-over-month it added 0.3%, although the market expected 0.2%, and thus beat estimates for the second consecutive month. Rising energy prices can eventually seep into other items of the consumer basket, such as transportation and services.
Inflation data limits the Fed's room for monetary easing. Estimates for an interest rate hike at the October meeting rose by 20% and today stand at 43.7%. Yesterday on the stream, we were looking at a figure around 23%.
Tomorrow on the stream at 7:00 PM we will also talk about inflation, but the main topic will be the results of $TSM and $ASML, so be sure to tune in!
