Here are two fresh economic reports:
- Consumer prices rose 0.6 percent in August, mainly due to more expensive gasoline. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says most of the bump up came from its gas index, which jumped nine percent. There were lesser increases in other energy products, such as fuel oil, natural gas and electricity. The core rate of inflation, which discounts food and energy, was up 0.1 percent in August. The agency says that's the same rate as July.
- Retail sales rose 0.9 percent last month, according to the Commerce Department. Part of that can be explained by the above news: consumers paid more money for gasoline, about 5.5 percent more. Shoppers also bought more automobiles, notes Bloomberg, which says automobile sales were up 1.3 percent.
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