Prices outside food and energy climbed 0.1 percent in October, pushing the so called core reading for 12-month inflation up to 2.1 percent. The Fed would like that reading to trend at 2 percent or just below.
Still, the headwinds to U.S. growth appear strong enough that the Fed could be forced to act before long.
"At this point it would probably take only a few missteps out of elected Washington or the capitals of Europe before Fed leadership sees the need for more aggressive action," said Michael Feroli, an economist at J.P. Morgan.
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felixburt of TX 5:23AM November 17, 2011