USA: Lower than expected consumer price rise in October – 11/10/2022 at 4:04 pm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US consumer prices rose less than expected in October, suggesting that inflation has now peaked, which could prompt the Federal Reserve to moderate the pace of inflation. Its interest rates, official statistics released Thursday show.

The rise in the consumer price index (CPI) stood at 0.4% last month after an increase of the same magnitude in September, the Labor Department said. In one year, the index rose by 7.7%, after gaining 8.2% in September.

Economists interviewed by Reuters forecast an average increase of 0.6% on a monthly basis for October and 8.0% on an annual basis.

It is the first time since February that the rise in the CPI index has fallen below 8% in a year after peaking at 9.1% in June, setting a record since November 1981.

The rise in the CPI index, excluding energy and food products, known as core inflation (“core CPI”), on the other hand, slowed much more, to 0.3% in a month, compared to 0.6. % in September, while the consensus predicted a 0.5% increase.

In one year, the increase in the core CPI stands at 6.3% after a 6.6% increase in September and a consensus of + 6.5%.

On Wall Street, index futures are amplifying their gains following the release of the new data, with the S&P-500 opening 3.25%, the Dow Jones at 2.41% and the Nasdaq at 4.38%. The CBOE volatility index fell to a two-month low of 23.93 points.

(Report by Lucia Mutikani; French version by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer and Sophie Louet)