Photo: US Department of Labor, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), via Wikimedia Commons (source)
U.S. consumer prices climbed 0.6 percent in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 0.4 percent rise in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Wednesday, Oct. 14, release. Measured over the year through September, the headline gauge advanced 3.7 percent before seasonal adjustment, compared with a 3.4 percent annual rise through August.
Pump prices explained most of the step-up. The gasoline component advanced 9.1 percent in September and, BLS said, accounted for more than half of the monthly all-items increase. Unadjusted gasoline prices were 6.5 percent higher over the month. The energy group as a whole rose 5.2 percent in September, following a 2.1 percent gain in August.
Energy, food and shelter
Across the past year, energy is 20.4 percent higher, with gasoline alone up 34.2 percent, according to the bureau. Electricity edged up 0.2 percent in September and stands 4.4 percent above its year-earlier level. Natural gas slipped 0.3 percent over the month and is 5.0 percent higher over 12 months.
Grocery and restaurant prices together were flat in September. Store food fell 0.1 percent; meals away from home rose 0.2 percent. Over 12 months, the food category is up 2.5 percent (1.8 percent for food at home and 3.5 percent for food away from home), BLS reported.
Housing costs kept climbing. Shelter rose 0.4 percent in September after 0.3 percent in August. Owners' equivalent rent increased 0.3 percent and tenant rent 0.2 percent. Shelter is 3.2 percent higher than a year earlier.
Core inflation
Excluding food and energy, prices rose 0.3 percent in September — the same as in August — and are 2.6 percent higher over the past year, after a 2.4 percent annual pace through August, BLS said.
Monthly gains included recreation (0.5 percent), used cars and trucks (0.7 percent), education (0.6 percent), airline fares (1.2 percent), apparel (0.3 percent) and medical care (0.1 percent). Hospital services rose 0.7 percent; prescription drugs fell 1.2 percent. Communication prices declined 0.2 percent.
What's next
BLS issues the Consumer Price Index each month. Wednesday's release carried the identifier USDL-26-1574 and went out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The October 2026 report is due in mid-November on the bureau's calendar.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index — September 2026 (2026-10-14)
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