The US CPI rose slightly less than expected in September, and the prospect of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates next week is more clear

The US Consumer Price Index rose slightly less than expected in September, paving the way for another Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week. The US Department of Labor said Friday that the CPI rose 0.3% month-over-month in September, following a 0.4% increase in August. The annualized rate reached 3.0%, a slight improvement from August's 2.9% increase. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the core CPI rose 0.2% month-over-month (from 0.3% in August), and the year-over-year increase slowed to 3.0% from 3.1% in August. Despite the government shutdown halting economic data releases, the CPI report was released to help the Social Security Administration calculate cost-of-living adjustments for millions of retirees and other benefit recipients in 2026. The data was originally scheduled for release on October 15th. The pass-through of import tariffs has been gradual, as businesses work through inventories accumulated before Trump's broad tariffs were implemented and absorb some of the tax burden. Economists note that businesses have achieved this at the expense of hiring and estimate that consumers have borne approximately 20% of the tariff costs so far. (Jinshi)