Cost of living tops US voter concerns as fuel and prices outpace wages

American households are tightening budgets as fuel and consumer prices outpace pay, with the cost of living the top voter issue ahead of the November midterms.

• Consumer prices rose 3.7 percent over the past year while average hourly wages rose 3 percent, according to the latest Labor Department data.
• A Reuters/Ipsos poll found the cost of living the most important issue for voters at 47 percent, leading the next-closest issue by a double-digit margin.
• Trump announced measures to cut fuel costs, including lifting sanctions on Russian diesel imports, an $8bn farmer subsidy and greater use of red-dye diesel.
• National average gasoline prices hit $4.29 a gallon, up more than $1.25 from a year earlier, with diesel up nearly 75 percent to $6.30.