Inflation surged more than expected in September as prices remain stubbornly high

Inflation ran hotter than expected in September as persistent prices continued to squeeze U.S. households and worsen a political headache for President Biden with just one month until midterm elections.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price for everyday goods including gasoline, groceries and rents, rose 0.4% in September from the previous month. Prices climbed 8.2% on an annual basis. 

Those figures were both higher than the 8.1% headline figure and 0.2% monthly increase forecast by Refinitiv economists, a worrisome sign...