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NEW YORK – Consumer prices rose 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis in October from September, cooling from September’s 0.6% jump, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday, in an inflation report that arrived without the familiar 12-month rate because of last year’s government shutdown.
The October Consumer Price Index reading came in below September’s pace. Core prices, which leave out food and energy, rose 0.3% for the third straight month, the bureau’s release shows.
The bureau said it did not collect survey data for October 2025 because of the lapse in appropriations, so it cannot publish 12-month percent changes for October 2026 for most CPI series. The last available annual reading, for September, showed prices up 3.7% over 12 months.
Food prices rose 0.5% in October, with groceries up 0.4% and restaurant meals up 0.5%. Energy prices rose 0.7%, slowing sharply from September’s 5.2% surge, and gasoline rose 1.0% after jumping 9.1% the month before. Shelter costs rose 0.3% and accounted for over thirty percent of the monthly increase, the bureau said. Used car and truck prices fell 1.2%.
Delayed quotes from about 8:22-8:23am Eastern, before the release, showed Dow futures up 0.4%, S&P 500 futures little changed and Nasdaq-100 futures down about 0.4%. Those quotes do not show the market response to the inflation report.
The report lands one day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,104 points, as JBizNews previewed this morning.
What it means for you: The overall price index is still rising, but its monthly increase slowed from September. Grocery prices rose 0.4% and restaurant prices rose 0.5%, while the gasoline index increased 1.0% after seasonal adjustment. The missing October 2025 data mean there is no overall year-over-year inflation rate in this release; they do not mean prices stopped rising.
JBizNews Desk | Wall Street
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