U.S. Consumer Prices Rise 0.4% in October; Shelter, Food and Energy Drive Gains

U.S. consumer prices rose 0.4% in October from the prior month on a seasonally adjusted basis, while core inflation excluding food and energy increased 0.3%, according to a Consumer Price Index report released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in October after rising 0.6 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today,” the agency said. BLS said the shelter index rose 0.3% in October and “accounted for over thirty percent of the monthly all items increase.”

The CPI is one of the federal government’s main measures of inflation and is closely watched as a gauge of how broadly prices are rising across the economy. Shelter carries a large weight in the index, which helps explain why even a modest monthly increase in housing-related costs can drive a sizable share of the overall gain.

Food and energy also pushed prices higher in October. The food index rose 0.5% for the month, including a 0.4% increase in food at home and a 0.5% increase in food away from home, BLS said. The energy index rose 0.7%, following a 5.2% jump in September. Beyond those categories, BLS said prices also increased for recreation, medical care, motor vehicle insurance, household furnishings and operations, and education. Indexes that fell included used cars and trucks and communication.

This month’s report comes with an important limitation for readers looking for year-over-year comparisons. BLS said it did not collect survey data for October 2025 because of a lapse in appropriations, which means some 12-month comparisons for October 2026 cannot be published.

“BLS did not collect survey data for October 2025 because of a lapse in appropriations. For most CPI series, BLS could not publish October 2025 indexes. As a result, BLS cannot publish 12-month percent changes for October 2026 for indexes where October 2025 data are unavailable,” the agency said. Where an October 2025 comparison does exist, BLS did publish annual figures; for example, the report showed gasoline prices up 37.4% over the 12 months ended in October 2026.

The missing October 2025 data means this month’s CPI release is more useful for tracking recent monthly price momentum than for making broad year-ahead comparisons across all categories. For that reason, the October monthly changes in shelter, food and energy carry added weight in understanding the report.

The inflation data arrives less than two weeks after the Federal Reserve left its target federal funds rate unchanged at 3.75% to 4.00% on Oct. 28. The central bank does not set policy based on CPI alone, but the report is one of the major federal data releases used to assess price pressures.

For October, the practical takeaway was straightforward: shelter remained a major driver of overall inflation, food prices continued to rise and energy also increased, while the absence of October 2025 survey data limited how much of the report could be compared with a year earlier.