US inflation eased slightly last month as price increases extend slow descent

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Measures of U.S. inflation eased slightly in September, evidence that consumer price increases are continuing to grind lower at a gradual pace. Consumer prices increased 0.4% from August to September, below the previous month’s 0.6% pace. Year-over-year inflation was unchanged last month from a 3.7% rise in August. And underlying inflation declined a bit: So-called core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, climbed 4.1% in September from 12 months earlier, down from a 4.3% pace in August. That is the smallest such increase in the core measure in two years. Still, on a month-to-month basis, prices are continuing to rise faster than is consistent with the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.