Fresh data on Wednesday will offer the latest look at the forces that have made rapidly rising prices a fact of life in recent years. The Consumer Price Index will show what people paid for goods and services across the U.S. economy last month, when conflict in the Middle East pushed up energy costs and the artificial intelligence buildout strained supplies of computer chips and labor. Those pressures have reinvigorated inflation ahead of the midterm elections, which will determine whether Republicans retain control of Congress.
The data will also help inform the Federal Reserve, which has grown increasingly concerned about stubborn inflation. Fed officials raised interest rates last month and agreed that they were likely to raise them again this year to push back on inflation. The details of Wednesday’s report will help guide their thinking, although it is not likely to push them to raise rates at their next two-day meeting on Oct. 27-28.
Source: New York Times Business · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing