Inflation in the USA: Prices rise by 3.7 percent in September

Inflation in the USA rose surprisingly sharply in September. Consumer prices rose 3.7 percent year-on-year, the Labor Department said. In August the rate was 3.4 percent.

This means that inflation is approaching its highest level in more than three years, which was reached in May (4.2 percent) due to the consequences of the Iran war. This increases the pressure on the Federal Reserve to increase key interest rates: the US central bank is aiming for an inflation rate of two percent.

The price development in the USA was driven primarily by energy costs. Important raw materials such as crude oil have become significantly more expensive in the past few weeks. Consumers paid a good fifth more for energy in September than in the previous year. Fuel prices rose by around 34 percent, and heating oil prices rose by around 74 percent.

This puts Donald Trump and his administration under pressure before the midterm elections in November. Republicans currently hold a slim majority in both chambers of Congress. According to surveys, the US President's policies are increasingly unpopular: Trump had originally promised to curb inflation. At the same time, he repeatedly attacked the US Federal Reserve and called for interest rate cuts - so far in vain.

"According to our forecast, the US Federal Reserve will leave its key interest rates unchanged at the next meeting in October, but an increase in December seems set," Dirk Chlench, economist at Landesbank LBBW, told the dpa news agency. US inflation is heading for a rate of more than 4 percent year-on-year in the next few months.

In August, the US national debt officially rose to $40 trillion. Trump wants to limit the damage by buying government bonds.