US inflation climbs to 3.7% in September, above expectations, driven by fuel
US annual inflation reached 3.7% in September, higher than expected, mainly because of rising fuel prices. The data comes ahead of the country's midterm elections.
Annual inflation in the United States rose to 3.7% in September, higher than had been expected, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase was driven largely by fuel costs, and the figure arrives ahead of the midterm elections, which are held halfway through a presidential term.
Fuel leads the rise
Prices for car fuel were 34.2% higher than a year earlier. In September alone they jumped by 9.1%, which accounts for more than half of the rise in overall inflation, the statistics agency said.
Energy prices as a whole increased by 20.4% over the year, as fuel oil, energy services and electricity all became more expensive. Fuel oil, which is used to heat homes, was up 74.2% over the 12 months.
What the Federal Reserve will watch
Experts said the Federal Reserve, the US central bank that sets the country's interest rate, will be watching closely to see whether higher energy costs start to spill over into other parts of the economy, such as food prices, and push inflation higher still.
For now, food inflation remains subdued. Food prices were flat over the month of September and 2.5% higher across the year. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, stood at 2.6%.
Price pressure is therefore concentrated in energy for the moment, while the food and core measures remain below the headline figure.
