Consumer prices were up 2.9% in August from a year earlier, hotter than July’s gain of 2.7%. The year-over-year reading was the highest since the start of 2025.

Consumer prices rose 2.9% in August from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, the biggest increase since January.

The stalling of the labor market is recalibrating the Fed’s priorities toward trying to protect the labor market from going into a tailspin. But rising inflation could give the Fed some pause.

Thursday's consumer-price index for August included an annual core inflation rate of 3.1%, which has remained above 2% since April 2021. It may take a recession to lower this rate to 2% in the next several years.

After a weak jobs report, the producer and consumer price indices for August could be the next worry for the markets and the Fed.

Inflation ticked up for the fourth month in a row, rising in line with forecasts, as higher tariff rates trickle into prices for consumer goods. The consumer price index climbed 2.9% year over year in August,