US inflation, jobs data bolster Fed December rate-hike chances

Washington

US CONSUMER prices recorded their biggest increase in six months in October on rising gasoline costs and rents, suggesting a pick-up in inflation that potentially clears the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in December.

Prospects for a rate hike next month also got a boost from other data on Thursday showing first-time applications for unemployment benefits tumbling to a 43-year low last week and housing starts surging to a nine-year high in October.