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Inflation moved higher last month as the price of gas, groceries, hotel rooms and airfare rose, along with the cost of clothes and used cars. Consumer prices rose 2.9 per cent in August from a year earlier, the Labour Department said Tuesday, up from 2.7 per cent the previous month and the biggest increase since January. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 3.1 per cent, the same as in July. Both figures are above the Federal Reserve's 2 per cent target. The reading is the last data the Fed will receive before its key meeting next week, when policymakers are widely expected to cut their short-term rate to about 4.1 per cent from 4.3 per cent. Still, the figures underscore the challenges the Fed is facing as it experiences relentless pressure from President Donald Trump to cut rates. Even as inflation has ticked higher, recent government reports have also shown that hiring has slowed sharply in recent months and was lower than previously estimated last
Ahead of the crucial mid-term polls, US President Joe Biden has announced a slew of measures to lower gas prices, which have been hurting the middle class. Biden, in a major policy speech, reiterated that Russian President Vladimir Putin was responsible for the hike in energy prices in the US. When the price of gas goes up, other expenses get cut. That's why I have been doing everything in my power to reduce gas prices since Putin's invasion of Ukraine caused these prices to spike and rattled international oil markets, he said in a speech. Biden said the Department of Energy will release another 15 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, extending the previously announced release, through the month of December. He said independent analysts have confirmed that drawdowns from the reserves so far have played a big role in bringing down oil prices. So, we're going to continue to responsibly use that national asset, he said. Right now, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is