An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve has dropped to near pre-pandemic levels.

The Commerce Department reported that prices rose just 2.1% in September from a year earlier, down from a 2.3% rise in August. That is barely above the Fed’s 2% inflation target and in line with readings in 2018, well before prices began surging after the pandemic recession.

Yet some signs of inflation pressures remained. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core prices rose 2.7% in September from a year earlier for the third straight month. On a monthly basis, core prices rose 0.3% from August to September, up from 0.2% from July to August. The increase in the core rate is higher than the Fed would prefer.

Still, for the past six months, core inflation has declined to a 2.3% annual rate, down from 2.5% in August. And economists still expect the Fed to cut its key rate by a quarter-point when it meets next week.

“It’s essentially the soft landing that many of us dreamed of,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at the tax and accounting firm EY, referring to a scenario in which high interest rates manage to tame inflation without causing a recession. “You really have the best of both worlds, with consumer spending growth remaining resilient and inflation moving within striking distance of the Fed’s 2% target.”

Newsom hopes his executive order curbs soaring utility bills

Gov. Gavin Newsom last week issued an executive order that he hopes will curb skyrocketing electricity bills paid by customers of California utility behemoths.

It’s unclear if the executive order the governor trumpeted on Thursday will have any effect.

The order, however, comes at a time when PG&E bills have zoomed higher at a pace that’s eight times faster than the Bay Area inflation rate.

“We’re taking action to address rising electricity costs and save consumers money on their bills,” Gov. Newsom said in a statement released along with the executive order.

The order attempts to achieve several goals: electric bill relief; maximize the California Climate Credit; manage and reduce electric costs for the long term; pursue smarter wildfire mitigation investments.

The governor’s order requests the state PUC to identify underperforming programs and return unused funds to customers through bill credits. It appears these might be more one-time credits rather than vehicles to lower utility costs over the long term.

Hyundai Motor Co. debuts its next-version hydrogen vehicle

Hyundai Motor Co. unveiled a new hydrogen-powered vehicle called Initium, which it aims to release in the first half of next year as part of its broader push into the clean-burning gas.

The concept vehicle, unveiled Thursday, has a target driving range of 404 miles on a single refueling, compared with 378 miles for the Nexo, the South Korean carmaker’s first hydrogen-based SUV, according to a statement. The vehicle can also be connected to a household’s electricity supply to act as a backup source of power, the company said.

While demand growth for electric vehicles is slowing, Chief Executive Officer Jaehoon Chang told reporters it’s only a matter of time before the automotive industry more widely adopts electrified powertrains. Hydrogen-powered vehicles “are not the type that’s profitable but regardless, we’re pushing for it, tackling it as if it’s a mission of ours,’ he said at the event at Hyundai’s motor studio in Goyang, north of Seoul.

While hydrogen cars have failed to gain traction — the production of the gas using renewable energy sources isn’t yet commercially viable on a large scale and it is difficult to transport, store, and dispense — Hyundai is pushing heavily into the carbon-free alternative fuel.

During an investor day in August, Hyundai pledged to invest some $4 billion over the next decade to build a future around hydrogen to meet its net zero target by 2045, and become carbon neutral across all stages of production and operation.

Ever since the release of the Nexo in 2018, Hyundai has remained a big proponent of hydrogen while global automakers more broadly have focused on battery-powered electric vehicles.

Compiled from staff, Bloomberg and Associated Press reports.