Inflation in the U.S. ticked up in October, driven by costlier rents, used cars and air fares. Consumer prices rose 2.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Labor Department, up from 2.4 percent in September. It was the first rise in annual inflation in seven months. From September to October, prices edged up 0.2 percent, the same as the previous month. In addition, the economy is growing faster than many economists had expected earlier this year. It has expanded at nearly a 3 percent annual rate over the past six months.
The Fed: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed confidence last week that inflation is still heading down to the central bank’s 2 percent target, though perhaps slowly and unevenly.
