Global food prices hit three-year high as heatwaves and conflict push up cost of crops - business live
Global food prices have reached a three-year high due to climate-driven heatwaves and geopolitical conflicts. Meanwhile, US labor data shows a cooling market, complicating the Federal Reserve's interest rate strategy.
Why it matters
Rising food costs combined with labor market instability create significant inflationary pressure and economic uncertainty for global consumers.
US employers unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July and gains for the previous two months were revised down sharply by a combined 103,000 jobs, painting a weaker picture of the labor market than past data indicated.
The unemployment rate, however, held steady at 4.1%. Economists had projected an unchanged unemployment rate and 83,000 new jobs for the month.
The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics illustrates the continued summer slump in job growth amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Pressure has been mounting within the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to combat persistently high inflation, but July’s job report and its latest revisions may cool those expectations at the central bank’s next meeting.
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