U.S. consumer price inflation falls 0.2% in September

The U.S. Labor Department released consumer price inflation data on Thursday. The U.S. consumer price inflation fell 0.2% in September, in line with expectations, after a 0.1% fall in August.

The decrease was partly driven by lower gasoline prices. Gasoline prices dropped 9.0% in September. It was the biggest decline since January.

Food prices increased 0.4% in September. It was the largest rise since May 2014.

On a yearly basis, the U.S. consumer price index declined to 0.0% in September from 0.2% in August, beating expectations for a drop to -0.1%.

The U.S. consumer price inflation excluding food and energy gained 0.2% in September, exceeding expectations for a 0.1% rise, after a 0.1% increase in August.

On a yearly basis, the U.S. consumer price index excluding food and energy rose to 1.9% in September from 1.8% in August. Analysts had expected the inflation to remain unchanged at 1.8%.

The inflation remains low due to a weak wage growth and a stronger U.S. dollar.

It is unclear if this mixed inflation data will be enough for the Fed's interest rate hike. Fed Governors Lael Brainard and Daniel Tarullo said this week that they would like to see clear signals that the inflation was accelerating toward the 2% target.