Inflation Number Beats Expectations, Private Sector Adds 90,000 Jobs
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Consumer prices rose 0.3% in the latest month and 3.4% from a year earlier, according to the Commerce Department. Both figures were lower than economists expected.
Economists had forecast a 3.7% annual increase.
Core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2% for the month and 3% over the past year, also below forecasts of 0.3% and 3.3%.
Consumer prices posted a smaller than expected increase from a year ago, according to the Federal Reserve’s primary inflation gauge, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
The personal consumption expenditures price index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.3% for the month, putting the 12-month gain at 3.4%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for increases of 0.3% and 3.7% respectively.
Excluding food and energy, PCE posted a 0.2% increase that put the annual core level at 3%. The respective forecasts were for 0.3% and 3.3%.
Though the Fed officially follows the headline PCE number, officials generally consider core a better gauge of longer-term trends.
Jobs data was also released.
The private sector added 90,000 jobs in September, according to the ADP.
This is more than the expected 70,000.
Companies in the private sector added 90,000 jobs in September, payroll processing firm ADP said in its latest report on Wednesday.
The figure is above economists’ estimates of a gain of 70,000 jobs and up from the prior month’s revised 36,000 payrolls.
“It’s a strong report,” said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. “After a three-month slowdown, job creation rebounded and pay growth remained solid.”
