With the post-pandemic spike in U.S. inflation easing further last month, the path was cleared for the Fed to cut interest rates

U.S. inflation slowed to 2.5 percent in the year through August, but beneath the surface the details suggested that the costs of key categories, like housing, were stubborn.

Inflation cooled significantly from a year-over-year rate of 2.9% recorded in the previous month. Price increases have fallen from a peak in 2022, but inflation remains higher tha