High gasoline prices are intensifying inflation, yet American consumers are still spending, supporting the economy for now. Consumer prices rose 3.7% in September, far above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, while producer prices jumped 6.3% from a year earlier, the biggest increase in nearly four years, as costlier fuel raised shipping and food costs. Retail sales rose 0.8% from August, more than economists expected, driven by a 6.4% jump at gas stations, though sales excluding gas rose just 0.2%. Inflation-adjusted weekly paychecks fell year on year in September for the first time since May, and many economists worry that persistent inflation will erode spending power. The Fed raised its key rate by a quarter point to about 3.9% in September, its first increase in three years, and minutes suggest another hike is likely this year.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Original headline: US consumers are muscling through higher prices , but for how long ?
Read the original on news4jax.com ↗
Related news
- US consumers are muscling through higher prices, but for how long?
Inflation accelerated in September as higher gas and diesel prices spread to shipping and food, with producer prices up 6.3% from a year earlier, the biggest rise in nearly four years. Consumer inflation hit 3.7%, far above the Fed's 2% target, and wholesale food prices jumped 1.2% in the month, which could make groceries more expensive. Retail sales still rose 0.8% from August, led by a 6.4% jump at gas stations, though much of the gain reflected higher prices. Jobless claims stayed below 200,000, but hiring slowed to 29,000 from a revised 133,000 in August, and inflation-adjusted weekly pay fell from a year earlier. Most Fed officials expect another rate increase may be needed this year, which would raise borrowing costs for mortgages, car loans and credit cards.
- US consumers are muscling through higher prices , but for how long ?
High gas prices are driving up inflation and taking more of Americans' money, yet consumers are still spending, keeping the economy growing. The producer price index rose 6.3% from a year earlier, its biggest increase in nearly four years, with gas prices up 20% in a single month; diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon, up from $3.66 a year ago, raising shipping and food costs. Retail sales rose 0.8% from the previous month, driven by a 6.4% jump at gas stations, while excluding gas they rose just 0.2%. Hiring slowed sharply, but jobless claims stayed below 200,000 and the unemployment rate was 4.2%. Economists warn persistent inflation will erode spending power, and the Fed, with its rate at about 3.9% after a recent small increase, may raise rates again this year.
- US consumers are muscling through higher prices, but for how long?
High gas prices are intensifying inflation and eating into household budgets, yet consumers keep spending, supporting the economy for now. Producer prices jumped 6.3% in September from a year earlier, the biggest rise in nearly four years, while consumer inflation reached 3.7%, far above the Fed's 2% target. Retail sales rose 0.8% from August, beating forecasts, but excluding gas they rose only 0.2%, with much of that also reflecting higher prices. Weekly paychecks adjusted for inflation fell from a year earlier for the first time since May, and September hiring slowed to 29,000 jobs from a revised 133,000 in August, lifting the unemployment rate to 4.2%. Minutes from the latest meeting show most Fed officials expect another rate increase this year, after the Fed raised its key rate to about 3.9% in September.
- US consumers are muscling through higher prices, but for how long?
High gas prices are pushing up inflation and taking a bigger share of Americans' spending power, yet consumers keep spending strongly and supporting economic growth. The producer price index rose 6.3% in September from a year earlier, while diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon versus $3.66 a year ago, raising shipping costs and possibly grocery prices. Retail sales rose 0.8% from August, but excluding gas they rose only 0.2%; hiring slowed to 29,000 jobs in September, though jobless claims stayed below 200,000. Inflation reached 3.7% in September, and the Fed raised its key rate to about 3.9% in September; minutes show most officials expect another increase this year.
- US consumers are muscling through higher prices, but for how long?
High gas prices pushed up inflation in September, with the producer price index jumping 6.3% from a year earlier and consumer inflation reaching 3.7%, yet Americans kept spending. Retail sales rose a solid 0.8% from August, driven by a 6.4% jump at gas stations, while diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon versus $3.66 a year earlier. Economists say spending can hold up as long as unemployment stays low, though the rate ticked up to 4.2% and September hiring slowed to 29,000 jobs. Real weekly paychecks fell from a year earlier for the first time since May, and many economists worry that persistent inflation will erode spending power. Most Fed officials expect another rate increase this year, after the Fed raised its key rate by a quarter-point to about 3.9% in September, its first hike in three years.
- US consumers are muscling through higher prices , but for how long ? - The Business Journal Inflation Rises as High Gas Prices Strain Consumers Despite Strong Spending
Inflation accelerated in September as higher gas and diesel prices lifted costs in shipping, warehousing and wholesale food, with the producer price index up 6.3% from a year earlier and consumer inflation at 3.7%. Despite this, consumers kept spending: retail sales rose 0.8% from August, more than economists had forecast, driven by a 6.4% jump at gas stations, while sales excluding gas rose just 0.2%. The job market remains relatively firm, with weekly jobless claims below 200,000, though September hiring slowed to 29,000 jobs and inflation-adjusted paychecks fell from a year earlier for the first time since May. Economists warn persistent inflation could erode spending power, and Fed minutes show most officials expect another rate increase this year after the September rise to about 3.9%.
Related markets
Latest news
- Tether: Senator's investigation misses positive work that's led to lower Iran volumes
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino says a recent Senate Democrats report, led by Senator Richard Blumenthal, missed the company's work to enforce sanctions. He claims Tether froze suspicious addresses on average 4 weeks before OFAC and NBCTF sanction designations, and before Chainalysis labelled them in 99% of cases since 2023. Ardoino says these actions led to Iran-linked stablecoin volumes declining by 94%. The Senate report, which described Tether as providing a significant financial lifeline within Iran's shadow banking network, said the company did not comprehensively freeze flagged wallets before 2024. Blumenthal is also probing Tether's relationship with its U.S. financial partner, Cantor Fitzgerald.
- Sandisk, Datadog, Amazon Lead S&P 500 As AI Stocks Rebound
Western Digital, Sandisk, Datadog, Twilio and Amazon led the S&P 500 on Monday as AI-related stocks rebounded. Western Digital (WDC) rose 6.1% to 352.21, still below all its key moving averages, after plunging 16.4% last week. The hard-drive maker reports fiscal Q1 results late Thursday, kicking off a round of earnings for memory-related companies.
- Tesla Rises on a Foundry Agreement With Intel as JPMorgan Upgrades the Stock
Intel shares rose 4% and Tesla rose 3% after JPMorgan upgraded Intel to Neutral from Underweight and kept its $85 price target. Tesla committed to Intel's 14A process in April, and JPMorgan credits CEO Lip-Bu Tan's execution, expects positive EPS revisions, and sees its 2028 EPS estimate about 15% above consensus. The upgrade remains cautious: Intel is down about 36% from its June peak, its share of server CPU revenue has fallen from 77% to 53% since 2022, and its outside foundry business brought in barely $1 billion of annualized revenue in the first half of 2026. Intel's capital spending has exceeded operating cash every year since 2022, so the $20 billion stock sale and an anchor customer make the factory plan more fundable, though 14A won't reach high-volume production until 2028 and neither company has disclosed the deal's value. Intel reports third-quarter results on Oct. 29.
- What Crypto Bear Market? All of These Cryptocurrencies Have Skyrocketed in Value This Year
Bitcoin is down nearly 10% year-to-date, Ethereum is down 20% and XRP is down 30%, but several altcoins have risen sharply in 2026. Hyperliquid (HYPE) is up 210% for the year with a market cap of $20 billion, helped by the launch of spot ETFs, and Zcash (ZEC) is up 128%, with Grayscale's spot Zcash ETF attracting more than $500 million in under 30 days. NEAR Protocol, repositioned for the AI agent economy, is up 240% in 2026 but still down 75% from its January 2022 all-time high. Venice Token (VVV) is up 1,300% this year with a market cap just above $1 billion. The author favors Hyperliquid, citing its popularity overseas, the recent opening of the U.S. market to perpetual futures, and implicit support from the Trump administration.
- Nscale in talks for $45 billion Anthropic AI deal as IPO looms
Nscale is in talks to secure a computing deal worth about $45 billion with Anthropic, according to Bloomberg News, which could strengthen the Nvidia-backed data center developer's bid for a roughly $30 billion valuation in its planned IPO. The proposed agreement would cover a second building at Nscale's Monarch campus in West Virginia, delivering 460 megawatts of capacity powered by Nvidia's Vera Rubin chips, and could be finalized within days, though terms could still change. Anthropic already has infrastructure agreements with Nscale worth as much as $44.6 billion, according to Nscale's IPO filing, and holds a right of first refusal on the campus's anticipated third building. Investors are scrutinizing AI infrastructure economics, and Nscale faces questions similar to CoreWeave's about financing, execution and converting its backlog into cash flow, since its contracts are future commitments rather than collected cash. Representatives for Nscale and Anthropic declined to comment.
- A bad case of when your crypto thesis is based on one guy
Turkey confirmed the arrest of Hex founder Richard Hart, who was detained in Istanbul on October 14, and said police seized 7.15 million cash, six cold wallets, 28 watches, 300 bags and seven firearms during searches across 15 addresses. The detention relates to a Finnish Interpol red notice over suspicions of gross tax evasion and assault in Finland. Hart had an SCC civil case dismissed in 2025 on jurisdictional grounds, and the SCC declined to refile it. The speaker argues that investors who buy the token based on one founder face a sharp price drop if that person runs into legal trouble, and advises against investing just because of a founder.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.