The September CPI inflation report showed that prices rose at a slower-than-expected rate of 0.3% last month, but annual price hikes for a range of consumer goods rose to the fastest pace so far this year.

Wall Street responded positively to the data, since it likely does not derail the Federal Reserve’s plans to continue cutting interest rates.

This is the first and only piece of official economic data the federal government has released this month, due to the shutdown. Some employees at the Bureau of Labor Statistics returned to work in order to produce the report, since it is needed to assess key cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security recipients.

Economists predicted the data would show that annual inflation ticked up in September to 3.1% from 2.9% in August and rose 0.4% on a month-to-month basis.
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Numbers deemed scary a couple of months ago seem to be just fine today. We live in "interesting" times.

Jeff