US inflation fell for the first time in two years in August, dropping 0.1 per cent from a month earlier and retreating from a 17-year high on waning energy costs, the Department of Labor said Tuesday.
The consumer price index was rose 5.4 per cent year-on-year in August, down from a 5.6-per-cent inflation rate in July. Inflation dropped 0.1 per cent from July to August on a seasonally adjusted basis, after an 0.8 per cent increase in July.
The decrease reflected lower energy prices, which declined by 4.2 per cent from July but were still 35.6 per cent higher than August 2007.
Food prices continued to rise by 0.6 per cent in August after growing 0.9 per cent in July.
Core prices, which do not include food and energy, continued to increase by 0.2 per cent in August after increasing 0.3 per cent in July.
Later Tuesday, the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, is to adjust interest rates a day after a chaotic shake-up in the US finance industry that saw major stock indices drop by more than 4 per cent. The lower inflation could open a window for the central bank to lower rates.
Shares fell 2.1 per cent Friday on the Seoul stock exchange on general recession fears. South Korea's won dropped against the dollar.
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