Economy

CPI-U Rises 0.4% in October After 0.6% September Gain

The Tip Desk · November 12, 2026 · 2 min read

Shelter and food lifted the seasonally adjusted all-items index as energy cooled from September's spike.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers rose 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in October after a 0.6 percent increase in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

Shelter was the largest named monthly lift. The shelter index rose 0.3 percent, accounting for over thirty percent of the monthly all-items increase, after a 0.4 percent rise in September. Owners’ equivalent rent rose 0.3 percent and rent rose 0.2 percent.

Food increased 0.5 percent after being unchanged in September. Food at home rose 0.4 percent and food away from home rose 0.5 percent. Snacks rose 1.0 percent, beef rose 0.9 percent, and fruits and vegetables and dairy each rose 0.6 percent. Nonalcoholic beverages fell 0.3 percent after a 0.9 percent September increase. Full-service meals rose 0.7 percent and limited-service meals rose 0.4 percent.

Energy increased 0.7 percent after a 5.2 percent jump in September. Gasoline rose 1.0 percent after advancing 9.1 percent the previous month; before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices decreased 0.7 percent in October. Electricity rose 0.9 percent and natural gas fell 0.8 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent, matching September and August. Recreation rose 0.8 percent, medical care rose 0.3 percent, and motor vehicle insurance rose 0.7 percent. Used cars and trucks fell 1.2 percent after a 0.7 percent September increase, and communication fell 0.1 percent.

BLS did not collect survey data for October 2025 because of a lapse in appropriations and could not publish October 2025 indexes for most series. As a result, it cannot publish 12-month percent changes for October 2026 for indexes where October 2025 data are unavailable.