U.S. consumer prices increased 0.4% in October on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, easing from the 0.6% rise recorded in September. The slower overall pace of inflation came as energy prices climbed more modestly, even as several key spending categories continued to post monthly gains.
Shelter was a major contributor to October’s inflation reading, accounting for more than 30% of the total monthly increase in the Consumer Price Index. Shelter costs themselves rose 0.3% during the month, underscoring the continued role of housing-related expenses in overall consumer cost pressures.
Food prices accelerated in October after holding flat in September. The food index rose 0.5% for the month, with grocery prices up 0.4%. Four of the six major grocery store food group indexes advanced, while one declined. Prices for food away from home, which includes restaurant and other dining out costs, also rose 0.5%, pointing to broad-based food inflation across both at-home and away-from-home categories.
Core consumer prices, which exclude the typically volatile food and energy components, rose 0.3% in October. That matched the core CPI increases reported in both August and September, indicating a steady pace of underlying inflation across the broader basket of goods and services. Price increases were reported across several sectors, including recreation, medical care, motor vehicle insurance, household furnishings and operations, and education.
Energy prices rose 0.7% in October, a notable deceleration from the 5.2% jump reported in September. The smaller gain in the energy index helped temper the overall monthly inflation rate, even as the broader index of consumer prices continued to edge higher.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish a year-over-year change for the Consumer Price Index in October. The agency cited the federal government shutdown, which prevented it from collecting the data necessary to calculate a comparison with October 2025, as the reason for the missing annual CPI figure. As a result, only the month-over-month changes were available for this release.
For market participants, the October data depict a mixed inflation backdrop, with energy pressures easing but shelter and food costs continuing to move higher. The absence of a year-over-year CPI reading limits visibility into longer-term inflation trends around this release, leaving stakeholders to rely primarily on the monthly detail across individual spending categories.
