This is a breaking news story about October consumer price index data. Please check back for updates.
Inflation accelerated in October as the pace of consumer price growth trended higher.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said on Wednesday that the consumer price index (CPI) – a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost – increased 0.4% on a monthly basis.
It did not release an annual figure due to last year's government shutdown that prevented collection of October 2025 data.
The monthly figure was slightly higher than the estimates of economists polled by LSEG, who expected inflation to rise 0.3% from the prior month.
So-called core prices, which exclude volatile measurements of gasoline and groceries to better assess price growth trends, were up 0.3% in October.
That figure is slightly higher than the 0.2% estimate of economists polled by LSEG. Like with headline CPI, the BLS was unable to release a year-over-year figure for core CPI due to last year's government shutdown disrupting data collection.
FED'S PREFERRED INFLATION GAUGE ROSE IN SEPTEMBER AS THIRD-QUARTER GDP BEATS EXPECTATIONS
High inflation has created severe financial pressures in recent years for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more for everyday necessities like food and rent. Price hikes are particularly difficult for lower-income Americans because they tend to spend more of their already-stretched paychecks on necessities and have less flexibility to save.
Energy prices rose 0.7% on a monthly basis in October, which is much cooler than the 5.2% reading in September and the 2.1% rise recorded in August. The energy index had experienced monthly drops earlier in the summer amid volatility in oil and gas prices due to the Iran war.
Gasoline prices increased 1% in October, which followed a similar cooling trend after readings of 9.1% in September and 3.9% in August.