US inflation remains high but prices have risen less than economists expected

US inflation remained high last month as the cost of some imported goods rose while rental prices fell.

The Labor Department said Friday that consumer prices rose 3 percent in September from a year earlier, up from 2.9 percent in August. Excluding volatile food and energy categories, core prices also rose three percent, down from 3.1 percent in the previous month.

Both figures are above the Federal Reserve’s two percent target.

The report on the consumer price index is being released more than a week late due to the government shutdown, which is now in its fourth week. The Trump administration recalled some Labor Department staff to prepare the figures, as they are used to determine annual cost-of-living adjustments for about 70 million Social Security recipients.

The figures represent a smaller increase than many economists had forecast, and will likely encourage the Federal Reserve to cut its key interest rate when it meets next week for the second time this year.

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