US inflation eases to 7.7% over past year

last month in the latest sign that the inflation pressures that have gripped the nation might be easing as the economy slows and Americans grow more cautious. Consumer inflation reached 7.7% in October from a year earlier and 0.4% from September, the government said Thursday. The yearover-year increase, down from 8.2% in September, was the smallest rise since January. A separate gauge called core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy, rose 6.3% in the past 12 months and 0.3% from September. The numbers were all lower than economists had expected. Helping drive the inflation slowdown from September to October were used car prices, which dropped for a fourth straight month. Prices of clothing and medical care also fell. Food price increases slowed. Energy prices rebounded in October after decline in August and September.