Applications for unemployment benefits continued to rise in the past week, while inflation pushed higher and a key manufacturing index weakened. Getty Images The weekly jobless claims number, which is closely watched as an indicator for employment trends, unexpectedly rose 11,000 to 428,000, well ahead of estimates of 411,000. The consumer price index, meanwhile, gained 0.4 percent when including volatile food and energy prices, after an increase of 0.5 percent in July. The so-called core CPI, though, gained 0.2 percent, which was in line with expectations. Consumers paid more for a range of goods and services last month, pushing up...