U.S. Consumer Inflation Rises, Fueling Rate Hike Expectations

[Anchor]

U.S. consumer inflation for last month has been shown to exceed the central bank's target. Amid growing inflationary pressures, expectations are mounting that the benchmark interest rate will be raised.

This is Kim Hyunwoo reporting from New York.

[Reporter]

U.S. consumer prices for August rose 3.4 percent compared to the same month last year.

Compared to a month earlier, prices increased by 0.4 percent.

Core consumer prices, which exclude energy and food, rose 0.3 percent from the previous month, slightly beating market expectations.

Looking by category, gasoline prices jumped 3.9 percent from a month earlier, and housing costs also rose 0.3 percent compared to the previous month.

It is analyzed that soaring international oil prices, which drove up energy costs, had a significant impact on inflation.

In fact, as the war in the Middle East has prolonged, the price of diesel in the U.S. has surpassed 6 dollars per gallon, reaching a record high.

[Interview / Mark Mueller / President, Iowa Corn Growers Association: Agricultural diesel prices, which were 2.29 dollars a gallon a year ago in 2025, have more than doubled in just one year.]

With the final inflation report released ahead of next week's rate decision still exceeding the 2 percent target, and with rising oil prices continuing to heighten inflationary pressure, the Federal Reserve's concerns are deepening.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange's FedWatch tool, which had put the probability of a rate hike next week at 72 percent as of yesterday (the 11th), raised the probability of an increase to 86 percent following the release of the inflation data.

U.S. media outlets are also high on the possibility of a rate hike, projecting that next week's rate-setting meeting will serve as a major test for Federal Reserve Chair Kevin.

(Video Reported by Lee Hee-hoon | Video Edited by Kim Jin-won)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.