U.S. consumer prices rose 0.4% in October from September, and average hourly pay rose by the same amount. That left average hourly purchasing power unchanged. Grocery prices climbed after falling in September, and housing remained a large part of the increase. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report has the monthly figures, but the 2025 federal shutdown left it without the data needed to publish a headline annual rate.
The October rise was smaller than September's 0.6% increase. Prices still went up. The core index, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.3% for the third month in a row. The slowdown in the overall figure came alongside a much smaller increase in energy costs, while food prices rose after a flat September.
Grocery and restaurant prices
Grocery prices rose 0.4% from September. Four of the six major grocery groups got more expensive. Beef rose 0.9%, and produce and dairy each rose 0.6%. Cereals and bakery products were flat, and nonalcoholic beverages fell 0.3%. Eating out also cost more. Full-service meals rose 0.7%, compared with 0.4% for limited-service meals. A household that spends more of its food budget on beef or full-service meals may see a bigger increase than the food average.
Housing costs
Shelter rose 0.3% and accounted for more than 30% of the overall monthly increase. Rent rose 0.2%, while the measure of what homeowners would pay to rent a comparable home rose 0.3%. That second measure is an estimate of the cost of housing services. It does not track what a homeowner paid the mortgage lender that month.
Fuel and utility bills
Gasoline rose 1.0% after seasonal adjustment, down from a 9.1% jump in September. Before that adjustment, gasoline prices fell 0.7% in October. Both figures describe the same month. The first accounts for the pattern the agency typically sees at that time of year, while the second reports the price change before that adjustment. Electricity rose 0.9% on the adjusted measure, and piped natural gas fell 0.8%.
Other costs moved in opposite directions. Used car and truck prices fell 1.2% after rising 0.7% in September, while new vehicle prices rose 0.2% and motor vehicle insurance rose 0.7%. Those indexes measure separate expenses. A shopper who finds a lower price on a used car can still face a higher cost to insure it. The report also showed a 0.8% rise in hospital services and a 0.4% rise in physicians' services.
What happened to pay
The separate BLS earnings report found that average hourly earnings rose 0.4% before inflation. After accounting for the 0.4% increase in consumer prices, average hourly earnings were flat. The average workweek did not change, so inflation-adjusted weekly earnings were flat too.
That comparison uses average pay and a national basket of prices. A worker who earned the same hourly rate in October as in September had no pay increase to offset the rise in that basket. Another worker could have earned more per hour and still brought home less for the week if their hours fell. The agency's flat weekly average leaves room for both outcomes.
Why October has no headline annual rate
An October annual rate would normally compare October 2026 with October 2025. The agency could not collect survey prices during the October 2025 lapse in federal funding. As ABC News reported before the release, that missing month makes the usual headline comparison unavailable. September's 3.7% annual rate describes September and should not be carried forward as October's rate.
A few categories still have enough data for an annual comparison. Gasoline was up 37.4% from October 2025 before seasonal adjustment, while used cars and trucks were down 3.3%. Those figures cover only their own categories. The next CPI report, covering November, is scheduled for Dec. 10 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Until then, October's clearest national comparison is the 0.4% monthly increase against the 0.6% rise in September.
