U.S. Consumer Prices Climb Slightly More Than Expected In August

(RTTNews) - Following yesterday's report showing an unexpected dip by producer prices, the Labor Department released a separate report on Thursday showing U.S. consumer prices rose by slightly more than expected in the month of August.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.4 percent in August after inching up by 0.2 percent in July. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.3 percent.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 2.9 percent in August from 2.7 percent in July, in line with economist estimates.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose by 0.3 percent in August, matching the increase seen in July as well as expectations.

The annual rate of core consumer price growth in August was unchanged from the previous month at 3.1 percent, in line with economist estimates.