US CPI posts biggest annual rise since late 2023, jumps 3.0% over the past year

The CPI jumped 3.0% over the past year, the biggest annual rise since late 2023, according to new data from the ￰0￱ of Labor ￰1￱ September monthly increase clocked in at 0.3%, down from 0.4% in August, and the data was finalized before the recent government funding ￰2￱ biggest driver? Gasoline with a 4.1% surge in ￰3￱ was enough to push the full energy index up 1.5% month-over-month. Meanwhile, food prices crept up again, rising 0.2%. The food at home index gained 0.3%, and food away from home ticked up 0.1%.

Combined, these categories explain most of the increase in the CPI this ￰4￱ costs rise as gasoline spikes again Over the full 12 months through September, energy prices are now up 2.8%. But that hides some chaos under the ￰5￱ prices jumped 5.1%, and natural gas soared 11.7%. Gasoline? Despite the September bump, it’s actually down 0.5% from this time last ￰6￱ down the food data, four out of six grocery categories climbed in ￰7￱ and bakery products jumped 0.7%, matching the nonalcoholic beverages index, which also rose 0.7%.

The meats, poultry, fish, and eggs category added 0.3%, coming after a 1.0% jump in ￰8￱ not everything went up: dairy products dropped 0.5%, including a 0.7% slide in cheese, and fruits and vegetables stayed flat. Year-over-year, the food index is now up 3.1%. Within that, food at home rose 2.7%, and food away from home rose 3.7%. Specific standouts: nonalcoholic beverages are up 5.3%, meat, poultry, fish, and eggs jumped 5.2%, and cereals and bakery goods added 1.6%.

Even fruits and vegetables climbed 1.3%, and dairy squeaked out a 0.7% ￰9￱ out is more expensive too, limited service meals rose 3.2%, while full service meals gained 4.2%. Shelter, airfare, medical care keep monthly CPI elevated Stripping out food and energy, the core CPI rose 0.2% in ￰10￱ follows 0.3% increases in both July and ￰11￱ the past year, this core measure is up 3.0%. Among the gainers: shelter, airline fares, recreation, household items, and ￰12￱ motor vehicle insurance, used cars, and communication all ￰13￱ and owners’ equivalent rent both rose just 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. That’s the smallest monthly rent jump since January ￰14￱ away from home added 1.3%.

Airfares continued their rebound, climbing 2.7% on top of August’s 5.9% ￰15￱ and furnishings rose 0.4% ￰16￱ was up 0.7%, and personal care added 0.4%. New vehicles rose 0.2%, but used cars fell 0.4%. On the healthcare front, medical care inched up 0.2%, reversing last month’s 0.2% ￰17￱ services and prescription drugs both increased 0.3%, but dental care fell 0.6%, and physicians’ services slipped 0.1%. Year-over-year, the shelter index is up 3.6%, medical care climbed 3.3%, household operations rose 4.1%, and used cars and trucks are up 5.1% despite monthly ￰18￱ at alternative indexes, the CPI-W, which tracks wage earners and clerical workers, rose 2.9% over the past year and 0.3% ￰19￱ C-CPI-U, a chained version of the CPI that adjusts for consumer behavior, also increased 2.9% year-over-year and 0.3% on a monthly ￰20￱ BLS noted that these indexes may still be revised over the next few ￰21￱ your strategy with mentorship + daily ideas - 30 days free access to our trading program