On October 10, institutions indicated that the US September CPI rose slightly higher than expected, but the annual inflation rate increased to the smallest level in over three and a half years, which may prompt the Fed to continue cutting interest rates next month. The September CPI rose by 2.4%, the smallest year-on-year increase since February 2021, while the increase in August was 2.5%. The inflation rate has slowed down from its peak of 9.1% in June 2022, and with the inflation index tracked by the Fed to achieve the 2% target also slowing significantly, this enables the Fed to shift its focus to the labor market and to significantly cut rates by 50% in September.