The Labor Department announced Tuesday that prices for a variety of consumer products grew less than predicted in August, indicating that inflation may be slowing. The consumer price index grew 5.3% from a year ago and 0.3% from July, measuring a basket of ordinary items as well as other energy goods. Prices were up 0.5% from June a month ago. Dow Jones polled economists, who predicted a 5.4% yearly increase and a 0.4% month-over-month increase. After removing volatile food and energy prices, the CPI gained just 0.1% for the month, versus a forecast of 0.3%, and 4% for the year, versus a forecast of 4.2%. The annual increase of 5.3% puts inflation at its highest level in roughly 13 years, while August figures suggest the rate may be slowing. Officials at the Federal Reserve have been keeping a careful eye on inflation, but have mostly stated that they anticipate this year's spike will be brief and attributable to temporary circumstances. Supply chain bottlenecks, shortages of vital products like semiconductors, and increased pandemic-related demand for goods are cited as major causes that will eventually subside.
https://apnews.com/article/business-prices-inflation-consumer-prices-2479b000e3cb1b2fbc73651dbf8c45fc
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/14/consumr-price-index-august-2021.html