Inflation likely took a breather last month as fuel prices fell
Americans are tired of inflation, as last week’s election results showed, but there may have been some relief last month as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices eased.The consumer price index, which is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m.ET on Tuesday, is expected to show an increase of 0.3% month-over-month, according to a survey of economists conducted by Bloomberg.
Economists also project that so-called core inflation, which does not include food or energy prices, rose 0.2%.In September, the CPI report showed prices grew 0.6% from August along with a 3.7% increase from a year earlier.
(The October data will not contain a year-ago number after the U.S.government shutdown disrupted the agency’s data collection, forcing it to skip the October 2025 CPI report entirely.) Even with some relief, the October data is set to illustrate the price pressures on consumers — a big factor in the Democrats’ sweeping victories in the congressional midterm elections last week.
Eighty-four percent of voters told NBC News’ Exit Poll that they believed higher prices were a result of President Donald Trump’s policies, and 39% said the economy was their No.1 issue at the ballot box, according to the exit poll.Those policies include global tariffs that add to the cost of products imported into the United States, as well as the war in Iran.
Launched in February, that conflict has driven regular gas prices up 40%.Diesel fuel prices are 70% higher than at the start of the year.
That, in turn, pushed inflation higher across the United States.Economists have warned that the rise in this commercial fuel can quickly ripple across the economy.
Diesel is a major input cost for the transportation industry that delivers goods, such as groceries, to store shelves around the world.Gas prices declined last month, as Americans either voted early or geared up to cast their ballots on Election Day.On Oct.
1, the AAA national gas price average was $4.41 per gallon.At the end of the month...