US Consumer Prices Rise 0.4% in October as Missing 2025 Data Leaves No Annual Rate
The Takeaway: October’s US inflation report shows the monthly pace cooling as September’s gasoline surge faded, while core prices held a 0.3% rise for a third straight month. The release prints no annual inflation rate, because no prices were collected in October 2025 during the federal funding lapse. In The Edge’s reading, that steady core pace, not the energy-led headline, is the signal for anyone tracking US rates.
US consumer price growth slowed to 0.4% in October from 0.6% in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Tuesday, as a smaller energy rise offset firmer food prices.
The October rise came in above market expectations. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had looked for a 0.3% headline increase and a 0.2% core rise, CNBC reported.
The report lands ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next rate decision on 8-9 December. Speaking in London hours before the release, Governor Christopher Waller said a core reading around 0.3% or higher would argue for considering a half-point increase at that meeting, The Edge reported earlier on Tuesday, a condition October’s core print meets.
Shelter rose 0.3% and accounted for more than 30% of the monthly increase, the bureau said. Food prices climbed 0.5% after holding unchanged in September.
Energy rose 0.7% on the month, far below September’s 5.2% jump. The gasoline index gained 1.0% on a seasonally adjusted basis after a far larger surge the month before.
Before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices actually fell 0.7% in October. Electricity costs rose 0.9%, while piped natural gas got cheaper.
Prices excluding food and energy rose 0.3% for a third straight month, matching August and September. Recreation and transportation services each rose 0.8%, and motor vehicle insurance climbed 0.7%.
Used cars and trucks pulled the other way, falling 1.2% after a 0.7% rise in September, and communication prices also slipped. Medical care rose 0.3%.
The release carries no annual inflation rate for the headline or core index. The bureau did not collect survey data for October 2025 because of a lapse in federal appropriations, so it cannot publish 12-month changes for October 2026 wherever the year-earlier index is missing.
Only a few annual changes survive in the summary table. Gasoline prices stood 37.4% higher than a year earlier before seasonal adjustment, while used cars and trucks were 3.3% cheaper.
The most recent standard annual rates on record are September’s, when the all-items index stood 3.7% higher than a year earlier and core prices 2.6% higher.
Before seasonal adjustment, the all-items index rose 0.2% in October to a level of 337.511, on a 1982-84 base of 100.
In The Edge’s reading, October’s headline slowdown came mostly from energy cooling after September’s gasoline spike. The steadier signal is core inflation, where three straight 0.3% monthly rises show underlying price pressure persisting rather than fading.
US consumer prices, monthly change (seasonally adjusted, %)
| Item | Sep | Oct |
|---|---|---|
| All items | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Food | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Energy | 5.2 | 0.7 |
| Gasoline | 9.1 | 1.0 |
| Electricity | 0.2 | 0.9 |
| Core (ex food and energy) | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Shelter | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Transportation services | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| Used cars and trucks | 0.7 | -1.2 |
What to watch: the bureau has scheduled the November 2026 CPI release for Thursday, 10 December, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Method: all figures are as the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index release for October 2026, published 10 November 2026, prints them; monthly changes are seasonally adjusted unless stated, and the 12-month changes cited are not seasonally adjusted, the only annual basis the release carries for October 2026.
Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US Federal Reserve, CNBC, The Edge.
