Here's the inflation breakdown for September 2024 — in one chart
Inflation fell in September as lower gasoline prices combined with other waning price pressures in areas such as housing to bring relief to consumers' wallets, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, was up 2.4% last month from September 2023, the bureau said.
That figure is a decline from 2.5% in August, meaning price growth slowed. It's also the smallest annual reading since February 2021.
The September CPI figure was slightly higher than economists predicted, however.
There were some trouble spots, such as an uptick in categories including clothing, car insurance and groceries. Most appear to be «one-off» increases, though, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's.
«The trend on inflation remains very positive,» Zandi said. «This month was a blip and I don't think it will be sustained.»
The CPI measures how quickly prices are rising or falling for a broad basket of goods and services, from car repairs to peanut butter and living room furniture.
Inflation has pulled back significantly from its pandemic-era peak of 9.1% in June 2022. It's moving toward policymakers' long-term annual target, near 2%.
«We have made substantial improvement over the past two years,» said Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo Economics.
That said, a slowdown in the labor market has concerned economists more than inflation in recent months.
The U.S. Federal Reserve, which had raised interest rates sharply to combat high inflation starting in early 2022, began cutting them in September to take pressure off the labor market and economy.
A pullback in gasoline prices has helped inflation throttle back.
A gallon of regular gasoline cost $3.21 in September, down 16% from $3.84 a
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