The Brief

Many Americans are feeling the pressures of rising prices and stubbornly high inflation rates.

By the numbers:

Consumer prices increased 2.9% in August from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday, up from 2.7% the previous month and the biggest jump since January.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 3.1%, the same as in July. Both figures are above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

What they're saying:

"Consumer inflation came in mildly hotter than forecast, but not nearly high enough to prevent the Fed from starting to cut rates next week," Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist for Nationwide, said. "The labor market is losing steam and reinforces that the Fed needs to start cutting rates next week and that it will be the start of a s

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