Investing.com - Consumer price inflation rose less than expected in September, official data showed on Friday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that consumer prices rose 0.5% in September, compared to forecasts for an increase of 0.6% and after a 0.4% gain in the prior month.
Year-over-year, consumer prices increased 2.2% last month, below forecasts for a 2.3% increase and compared to the 1.9% advance seen in August.
Consumer prices, excluding food and energy costs, increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, disappointing expectations for an uptick of 0.2% and following August’s 0.2% advance.
Core CPI increased at an annualized rate of 1.7% in September, in line with the previous month’s increase but below the consensus estimate for a 1.8% rise.
Core prices are viewed by the Fed as a better gauge of longer-term inflationary pressure because they exclude the volatile food and energy categories. The central bank usually tries to aim for 2% core inflation or less.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1851 from around 1.1808 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.33076, compared to 1.3269 previously, while USD/JPY was at 111.85 from 112.20 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 92.74, compared to 93.07 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures added 0.14%, the S&P 500 futures edged up 0.13%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.20%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,301.56 a troy ounce, compared to $1,294.67 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $51.59, compared to $51.55 prior to the release.