Consumer prices rose 2.9% in August compared to a year ago, marking an uptick in price increases as President Donald Trump's tariff policy intensified. The reading matched economists' expectations.

The U.S. economy is showing some strains after years of resilience, with domestic demand moderating and job growth slowing, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

Inflation rose two-tenths of a percentage point to 2.9% for the year ending in August in the consumer price index, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday, raising fears that about price pressures from tariffs.

Inflation ticked up to 2.9% in August, the highest rate since January.

The August jobs report delivered a shocking blow, revealing an economy teetering on the edge of a jobs recession. Just 22,000 jobs were added in August, while massive revisions showed employment actually fell in June – the first decline since December 2020,

Inflation, interest rates and unemployment continue to stay on the minds of many Americans as federal policy rapidly changes. NPR’s Chief Economics Correspondent Scott Horsley says the economy has downshifted in the last year.

US inflation edged up to 2.9 per cent in August, leaving the Federal Reserve with a difficult decision to make on interest rates next week and all but vanquishing any chance of a ‘super-sized’ 50 basis-point cut.

Inflation hit its highest annualized level since January by rising to 2.9 percent in August, according to consumer price data released Thursday by the Department of Labor. In the past month, prices climbed by 0.4 percent, the highest month-over-month increase since December 2024.