U.S. Inflation Persists in September

U.S. consumer prices were up in September with the consumer price index rising 0.4 percent last month after increasing 0.3 percent in August, according to Reuters. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who blames supply chain issues, has called the inflation “transitory.”

Sung Won Sohn, professor of finance and economics at Loyola Marymount University, disagrees: “Inflation is no longer ‘transitory.’ Supply-chain bottlenecks are getting worse. The logjam is unlikely to ease anytime soon despite the latest intervention by the White House.”

Food prices in particular rose sharply, increasing 0.9 percent due to higher meat costs in September after gaining 0.4 percent in the month before. Rents rose as well, increasing 0.4 percent – their biggest gain in five years.