Produce is offered for sale at a grocery store on Sept. 10, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Prices for a wide swath of goods and services continued to climb in August, according to a report Friday that raises the specter of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike next week.
The consumer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% for the month, putting the 12-month increase at 3.4%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Both readings were in line with the Dow Jones consensus.
However, stripping out volatile food and energy prices, core CPI posted a 0.3% monthly gain, or 0.1 percentage point higher than forecast. The core annual rate came in at 2.4%, in line with the estimate.
The report is the final major inflation indicator the Fed will see before it holds its policy meeting next week, concluding Wednesday with a vote on its key interest rate.
Traders responded to the numbers by ramping up bets that the Federal Open Market Committee will increase its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point. Odds for a hike jumped to about 90%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tracker of fed funds futures prices.
Energy propelled the headline number higher, as gasoline prices jumped 3.9%, accounting for more than one-third of the index’s gain. The energy index broadly rose 2.1% amid pressure from escalating tensions in the Middle East and was up 16.3% from a year ago.
Food prices edged 0.1% higher as food at home costs held flat. The food index accelerated 2.7% annually.
Another significant factor was a 0.3% climb in shelter costs, which had moderated over the prior two months. Transportation services saw a 0.5% increase. Used cars and trucks rose 0.4% and new vehicle prices were up 0.3%, part of what appeared to be broad-based gains for the index.
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