Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal project U.S. headline CPI will increase 0.6% month-over-month and 3.6% year-over-year in September. Core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy components, is forecast to rise 0.2% monthly and 2.5% annually, maintaining persistent inflationary pressure on the Federal Reserve. Nuveen head of fixed income strategy Tony Rodriguez attributes the headline inflation surge primarily to higher energy prices. While this pressure has not yet transmitted to core inflation, Rodriguez warns that sustained energy cost increases over the next two quarters could begin impacting food and commodity prices broadly.