Gasoline fuels US inflation

The consumer prices in the world's largest economy rose by the most in 14 months in august. That's largely due to a rise in the cost of gasoline. However, the annual rise in underlying inflation was the smallest in nearly two years. This is significant as it is likely to give the Federal Reserve some space to leave interest rates unchanged this month. The consumer price index increased by 0.6% last month, the largest gain since June 2022, after rising 0.2% for two straight months. Gasoline prices, which jumped 10.6% after climbing 0.2% in July, accounted for more than half of the increase in the CPI.