Higher Gas Prices Lift Fed’s Preferred Inflation Gauge but Underlying Price Pressures Remain Mild

As shoppers wait in the background, a woman looks at Apple's new iPhone 15 at an Apple Store in Los Angeles on Sept. 22, 2023. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

WASHINGTON—An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Federal Reserve rose in August, boosted mainly by higher gas prices. But measures of underlying inflation slowed in the latest sign that overall price pressures are still moderating.

Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that prices rose 0.4 percent from July to August, up from just 0.2 percent the previous month. A 10 percent monthly spike in prices at the gas pump drove the increase.