Inflation heats up as gas prices surge
Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics ; Chart: Courtenay Brown/Axios U.S. inflation picked up in September as soaring energy prices added to already stubborn price pressures, the Labor Department said on Wednesday.
Why it matters: The latest Consumer Price Index shows that the inflation fight is far from over — and makes further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes more likely as Americans struggle with higher costs.
By the numbers: CPI rose 0.6% in September from the prior month, with the annual inflation rate at 3.7%, the government said.
That compares with a 0.4% monthly increase and a 3.4% annual rate in August.
Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, gained 0.3% on the month, compared with a similar monthly gain in August.
In the 12 months through September, core CPI rose 2.6%, up from 2.4% the prior month.
Zoom in: The latest figures capture the toll of the Middle East war on American consumers as disruptions to global energy supplies push up fuel prices.
Gasoline prices spiked 9.1% in September after climbing 3.9% in August, when they accounted for more than a third of the monthly increase in consumer prices.
Prices for shelter, one of the largest components of the index, increased 0.4%, compared with a 0.3% gain in August.
Food prices were flat, compared with a slight 0.1% increase the previous month.
Zoom out: The surge in fuel prices has prompted extraordinary measures from the Trump administration, particularly as soaring diesel costs threaten to push up prices for goods transported across the country .
President Trump temporarily eased restrictions on tax-exempt diesel and lifted some U.S. sanctions on Russian fuel to boost global diesel supplies.
Airline fares surged 1.2% in September — bringing the annual increase to 22% — as higher jet fuel costs put pressure on ticket prices.
What to watch: The Social Security Administration is set to announce the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment for millions of retirees, based on inflation figures released on Wednesday.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.axios.com — the content belongs to Axios.
