US consumer price growth cools in August, smallest gain in seven months

Treasuries pared declines following the data, while the dollar fell and S&P 500 futures rose.

Prices paid by U.S. consumers rose in August by less than forecast, posting the smallest gain in seven months and suggesting that some of the upward pressure on inflation is beginning to wane.

The consumer price index increased 0.3% from July, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday. Compared with a year ago, the CPI rose 5.3%. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, so-called core inflation climbed 0.1% from the prior month, the smallest gain since February.

Economists in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.4% increase in the overall CPI from the prior month and a 5.3% gain from a