Unrelenting inflation, tepid sales raise curtain on Fed meeting

(FILES) In this file photo taken on July 27, 2022, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference in Washington, DC. - AFP

WASHINGTON: Inflation remains inexorable, retail sales are muddling along and manufacturing is struggling for momentum, an avalanche of economic data showed in the week before a pivotal Federal Reserve (Fed) policy decision this week.

Consumer prices excluding food and energy jumped 0.6% in August – twice as much as economists expected and double the previous month’s advance – and will likely culminate in a third super-sized interest-rate hike by Fed officials this week.