- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
US consumer inflation eases more than expected in August
US consumer inflation eased more than expected last month, according to government data published Wednesday, bolstering expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.
A rate cut by the independent US central bank would act to boost demand in the world's largest economy. That would give the Democratic party some good economic news to run on going into the final stretch of the 2024 presidential elections.
The consumer price index (CPI) slowed to 2.5 percent in August from a year ago, down from 2.9 percent in July and the lowest annual figure since February 2021, the Labor Department said in a statement.
This was slightly below the median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
A measure of inflation that strips out volatile food and energy costs remained largely unchanged at an annual rate of 3.2 percent.
The monthly inflation rate picked up by 0.2 percent, in line with expectations.
Alongside the ongoing slowdown in consumer inflation, the Fed's favored inflation measure, known as the personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE), has also eased towards the bank's long-term two-percent target in recent months.
The labor market has also cooled.
Against this backdrop, Fed policymakers have shifted attention from inflation to the unemployment part of the bank's dual mandate, and indicated that rate cuts are on the way.
"The time has come for policy to adjust," Fed chair Jerome Powell said last month.
"The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks," he added.
A Fed rate cut next week will thrust the independent US central bank into the middle of the political debate less than two months before November's presidential election, in which the economy remains a top issue for voters.
Policymakers have been clear that the timing of rate cuts will be based on the economic data, not political considerations.
Nevertheless, a September cut could irk the Republican candidate and former US president Donald Trump, who has previously suggested without evidence that Jerome Powell -- whom he first nominated to run the Fed -- was displaying political favoritism toward the Democratic party.
Investors will now turn their attention to the upcoming Fed rate decision, which will be announced on September 18.
Futures traders are certain that the Fed will cut rates next week, but are not yet certain about the size of it, according to data from CME Group.
They assign a probability of around 85 percent that the Fed will cut by a quarter percentage-point, and a 15-percent chance that it will enact a more aggressive half-point cut.
O.M.Souza--AMWN