CPI report shows inflation eased but stayed high in Oct. 2022
Inflation continued to drift a bit lower last month but the descent from 40-year highs remains painfully slow.
But while overall inflation is softening, a key measure of underlying price gains hit a new historic high.
Economists say the report will do little to dissuade the Federal Reserve from approving a fourth straight outsize hike in interest rates early next month to tame inflation.
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Inflation continued to drift a bit lower last month but the descent from 40-year highs remains painfully slow.
Consumer prices increased 8.2% from a year earlier, down from an 8.3% rise in August and a four-decade high of 9.1% in June, as climbing food and rent costs again offset falling gasoline prices , according to the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index.
Economists had estimated yearly inflation would drop to 8.1%.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged up a larger-than-expected 0.4% after a 0.1% increase in August.
But while overall inflation is softening, a key measure of underlying price gains hit a new historic high. Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy items and generally provide a better measure of longer-term trends, increased 0.6% from August following a similar% rise the previous month. That pushed the annual increase from 6.3% to 6.6%, a new 40-year high.Generally, price increases for goods such as used cars and clothing are moderating, in part because supply chain troubles are easing, but the cost of services, including rent and medical care, have been rising dramatically.Economists say the report will do little to dissuade the Federal Reserve from approving a fourth straight outsize hike in interest rates early next month to tame inflation .
