Import price growth in the US accelerated in line with expectations at a rate of 1.0 percent, bringing the annualized rate up to an 11-month high of 5.2 percent. Unsurprisingly, the pick up was led by energy prices as petroleum costs rose 5.4 percent. Furthermore, “agri-inflation” pushed prices up as well, with food and beverage costs up 1.2 percent. Nevertheless, with import prices actually down 0.2 percent excluding petroleum and down 0.1 percent excluding fuels, it appears that volatile factors remain the primary driver of inflation as core measures hold relatively steady. However, these pressures could feed into consumer price growth, which may prevent the Federal Reserve from cutting rates on October 31st.
The US Dollar has strengthened in the minutes following the release, with EUR/USD falling back for a test of 1.4175.