Consumer price inflation slows in September

America’s inflation continued to slow in September, reaching a fresh three-and-a-half-year low and coming in at a pace that’s similar to what was seen in 2017 and 2018, according to new data released Thursday.

The Consumer Price Index, which measures price changes across commonly purchased goods and services, was 2.4% for the 12 months ended in September, slowing from a 2.5% annual rate in August, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

That’s less of a cooldown than economists were expecting – FactSet consensus estimates were for a 2.3% rise – however, inflation as measured by the CPI is at its slowest rate since February 2021.

On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.2%, in line with the advance in August but faster than economists’ projections of 0.1%.

A jump in food prices combined with ongoing shelter-related price-hikes pushed the overall CPI higher last month, BLS said.

Stripping out food and energy costs, categories that are typically quite volatile, core CPI rose 0.3% in September, bringing the annual rate up to 3.3% after holding firm at 3.2% the past two months.

The core CPI measurement was expected to be sticky for the month, a reflection of stubbornly high shelter inflation and a handful of temporary lifts in prices for certain categories such as insurance, lodging costs and vehicle prices.

Still, economists say that inflation is headed in the right direction, because the factors that pushed prices higher during the pandemic era have largely faded while demand has slowed to more normal levels.

This story is developing and will be updated.