Investing.com - Consumer price inflation in the U.S. rose in line with expectations in September, while prices excluding food and energy costs inched up modestly, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said that consumer prices increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, meeting estimates and following a 0.2% decline in August.
Year-over-year, consumer prices rose at an annualized rate of 1.7% in September, above expectations for a 1.6% reading and unchanged from August.
Consumer prices, excluding food and energy costs, increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in September, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% gain. Core consumer prices were flat in August.
Core CPI increased at annualized rate of 1.7% in August, in line with forecasts and unchanged from August.
Core prices are viewed by the Federal Reserve as a better gauge of longer-term inflationary pressure because they exclude the volatile food and energy categories. The central bank usually tries to aim for 2% core inflation or less.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.2668 following the release of the data, from 1.2699 ahead of the report, while GBP/USD was at 1.6038, compared to 1.6063 earlier.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was steady. The Dow futures indicated a gain of 0.05% at the open, the S&P 500 futures pointed to a decline of 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.05%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,244.00 a troy ounce, compared to $1,249.30 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $82.84 a barrel from $82.84 earlier.