Annual US consumer inflation at 8.3% in August, easing from 8.5% in July

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Annual consumer inflation in the US was 8.3% in August, easing from the 8.5% yearly gain in July, according to Labor Department figures released Tuesday.

The consumer price index (CPI), which measures changes in the prices of goods and services from a consumer's perspective, came in higher than the market estimate of an 8.1% annual increase.

The figure, however, is a sharp decline from the 9.1% yearly gain in June, which was the largest 12-month increase since November 1981.

On a monthly basis, CPI in August rose 0.1% from the previous month, again coming above the market expectation of a 0.1% decline. CPI in July was unchanged from the month before.

"Increases in the shelter, food, and medical care indexes were the largest of many contributors to the broad-based monthly all items increase," the department said in a statement.

Those gains, on the other hand, were offset by a 10.6% decline in the gasoline index, it added. The energy index fell 5% on a monthly basis, but the electricity and natural gas indexes rose.

While the food index climbed 0.8% month-on-month, the food at home index increased 0.7%, according to the department.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, gained 0.6% in August from the previous month, again above the market expectation for a 0.3% rise. In July, core CPI posted a monthly increase of 0.3%.

Annually, core CPI rose 6.3% in August year-on-year, similarly above the market forecast of 6.1%, after gaining 5.9% in July from the same month a year ago.

"The energy index increased 23.8 percent for the 12 months ending August, a smaller increase than the 32.9-percent increase for the period ending July," the statement said.

However, "the food index increased 11.4 percent over the last year, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending May 1979," it added.