The CPI rise in the US for September was slightly below expectations, making the prospect of a Fed rate cut next week clearer.

On October 24, the U.S. September CPI rose slightly below expectations, paving the way for the Fed to cut rates again next week. The U.S. Labor Department stated on Friday that after a 0.4% increase in August, the September CPI rose 0.3% month-on-month; the annual rate recorded was 3.0%, slightly up from the 2.9% increase in August. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the core CPI rose 0.2% month-on-month (0.3% in August), while the year-on-year increase dropped from 3.1% in August to 3.0%. Despite the government shutdown causing a halt in the release of economic data, the CPI report was still published to assist the Social Security Administration in calculating the cost-of-living adjustments for millions of retirees and other beneficiaries in 2026, which was originally scheduled for release on October 15. As companies digest the inventory accumulated before Trump's extensive tariffs and bear some of the tax burden themselves, the transmission effect of import tariffs has been relatively gradual. Economists pointed out that companies are achieving this at the expense of hiring, estimating that consumers have thus far borne about 20% of the tariff costs. (Jin10)