Consumer prices rise 0.4% in October as core inflation holds at 0.3%
Food and energy prices increased, while missing October 2025 data prevented publication of the usual headline and core annual inflation rates.
U.S. consumer prices rose 0.4% in October from September on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. That was slower than September's 0.6% increase, but above the 0.3% rise economists had expected in a Reuters survey.
Prices excluding food and energy rose 0.3%, matching the pace in September and August. Economists had forecast a 0.2% increase. The slower headline reading therefore did not come with a slowdown in the monthly core measure.
Food, energy and shelter added to the increase
Food prices rose 0.5% in October, including a 0.4% increase in groceries and a 0.5% rise in food away from home. Energy prices increased 0.7%, after a 5.2% rise in September.
Shelter costs rose 0.3% and accounted for more than 30% of the overall monthly increase. Used cars and trucks moved in the other direction, with prices falling 1.2%.
Why the annual figures are missing
BLS did not publish the usual October headline and core 12-month inflation rates. It said it had not collected survey data in October 2025 because of a lapse in appropriations, leaving no published comparison index for most series. The missing annual readings are not evidence that inflation was zero, and should not be replaced with an unlabeled estimate.
The release is the first new inflation result since this morning's Toast & Tickers, which was published before the data. A smaller headline monthly gain than September does not mean prices fell: the overall consumer price level still increased in October. The report supplies new evidence for the interest-rate debate, but is not itself a Federal Reserve decision.
