Wall Street followed the FTSE 100 ( ^FTSE ) and European stocks lower on Thursday as US inflation fell to 2.4% last month — its lowest in over three and a half years.
Although this was down from 2.5% in August the figure was still higher than expected, with economists forecasting a larger drop to 2.3%.
The annual US CPI rate saw the smallest 12-month increase in consumer prices since February 2021, in the final set of inflation data before next month’s presidential election.
The Bureau of Labour Statistics added that core inflation which excludes food and energy rose by 3.3% over the last year. The energy index decreased 6.8% for the 12 months ending September. The food index increased 2.3% over the last year.
On a monthly basis, prices rose by 0.2% in September alone.
It came amid news that the UK housing market is continuing to pick up . According to the latest data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), house price growth turned positive across the country for the first time in almost two years.
More surveyors reported rising house prices in their area than falling prices in September, ending a run of negative or flat returns since October 2022.
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