US consumer inflation eased to 7.7%

WASHINGTON — Price increases moderated in the United States, last month, in the latest sign that the inflation pressures that have gripped the nation might be easing as the economy slows and consumers grow more cautious. Consumer inflation reached 7.7%, in October, from a year earlier and 0.4%, from September. The year-over-year increase, a slowdown from 8.2%, in September, was the smallest rise, since January. A measure called core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy, rose 6.3%, in the past 12 months and 0.3%, from September.