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Consumers are benefiting from mild inflation. An inflation gauge tied to consumer spending increased 1.2 percent over the past 12 months, well below the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target. Some Fed officials have argued that the central bank should not start reducing its support for the economy until inflation has risen closer to the Fed's target. A recent spike in interest rates and mixed signals from the job market were key reasons the Fed decided held off last week on reducing its $85-billion-a-month in bond purchases. The Fed also scaled back its economic growth estimate for this year and next. There are some signs that consumers may be better positioned to step up spending soon. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits has sunk to its lowest point in six years because few companies are laying anyone off anymore. That has led some economists to predict that employers added 200,000 jobs or more jobs in September
-- the most since February. And gas prices are falling again. The average national price for a gallon of regular gas on Thursday was $3.43. That's 11 cents cheaper than a month ago and the lowest since January.
[Associated
Press;
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