Coffee Sipping Big Board Stocks

[EZ2]

Gas, housing drive fastest rise in inflation in five months

MARKETWATCH 9:08 AM ET 10/18/2016

Prices of goods and services climb 0.3% in September, CPI shows

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- More expensive gas and rising housing costs boosted consumer inflation in September by the largest amount in five months, the government said Tuesday.

The consumer price index climbed 0.3% last month, the government said Wednesday (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ cpi.nr0.htm). That matched the forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch.

The cost of shelter -- rent, new homes and previously owned homes -- rose at the fastest pace since May. Energy prices, mainly gas, also posted the biggest increase since early spring. That largely accounted for higher consumer inflation in September.

Over the past year, consumer prices have advanced 1.5%, the largest 12-month gain since late 2014. Higher inflation is more likely to spur the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, most likely before the end of 2016.

(http://projects.marketwatch.com/economic-data/?series=CPIAUCNS&theme=white&hed=Consumer+prices&dek=Change+from+ previous+year%2C+not+seasonally+adjusted&source=Bureau+of+Labor+Statistics+via+FRED&source_link=http%3A%2F% 2Fwww.bls.gov%2Fcpi%2F&drad=3&predictions=none)

Americans continue to see relief at the grocery store, however. The cost of food was unchanged for the third straight month and over the past year grocery prices have fallen 2.2%, the biggest decline since 2009 in the early stages of the current economic recovery.

Excluding food and energy, consumer prices rose a lesser 0.1% last month.

Real or inflation-adjusted hourly wages, meanwhile, fell 0.1% in September. Hourly pay has risen a scant 1% in the past 12 months.

-Jeffry Bartash; 415-439-6400; [e-mail]