United States: Higher than Expected Core Inflation

The US consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.1% in August after being unchanged in July. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, came back strongly in August, rising 0.6% after July's momentary blip (+0.3%). The annual variation in the all items index slowed slightly once again from 8.5% to 8.3%. However, core inflation rose from 5.9% to 6.3%, its highest level since peaking in March. As a result, the Federal Reserve won't hesitate to continue its monetary tightening.