Prices · Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in October
The File desk · Nov. 10, 2026, 9:10 a.m. ET
Confirmed2 primary sourcesAdded 9:10 a.m. ET, Nov. 10
Status
Confirmed from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index news release for October 2026 (USDL-26-1685), embargoed until 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. Index levels are from the bureau's public data API, retrieved Nov. 10. The bureau did not publish a 12-month change for October because it has no October 2025 index.
- ConfirmedAll items rose 0.4 percent in October after 0.6 percent in September, seasonally adjusted. Shelter rose 0.3 percent and accounted for over thirty percent of the monthly increase. Food rose 0.5 percent and energy 0.7 percent. Prices excluding food and energy rose 0.3 percent, as in September and August.
- ConfirmedThe bureau did not collect survey data for October 2025 because of a lapse in appropriations, so it cannot publish 12-month changes for October 2026 for most series.
Prices that Americans pay rose 0.4 percent in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said at 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 10.1 That followed a 0.6 percent rise in September. This month the bureau could not say how prices compare with a year earlier.1
The Consumer Price Index, or CPI, is the bureau's measure of "the change in prices paid by consumers for goods and services." Each month the bureau's staff collect prices for things like food, rent, gasoline, doctor visits and clothing in 75 urban areas.1
Housing made up a big share of October's rise. The bureau's shelter index rose 0.3 percent, "accounting for over thirty percent of the monthly all items increase." Rent rose 0.2 percent.1
Food rose 0.5 percent, after no change in September. Groceries rose 0.4 percent and restaurant meals rose 0.5 percent. Energy rose 0.7 percent, after a 5.2 percent jump in September.1
Prices excluding food and energy rose 0.3 percent, "as it did in September and August," the bureau said. That measure is often called core inflation. Because food and energy prices can swing hard from month to month, the core index gives a steadier view of the trend.1
The bureau's monthly figures are seasonally adjusted, which removes price changes that happen at about the same time every year, such as those around holidays and weather. Gasoline shows why that matters. After adjustment, the gasoline index rose 1.0 percent. Before adjustment, gasoline prices fell 0.7 percent.1
The missing yearly rate traces back to fall 2025. The bureau "did not collect survey data for October 2025 because of a lapse in appropriations," the gap in federal funding that shut down parts of the government. Without an October 2025 index, the bureau says it "cannot publish 12-month percent changes for October 2026" for most series.1
Why it matters (Estimate). Estimate. This is the last consumer price report before the Federal Reserve's next interest-rate decision on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2026. The November report comes the next day, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. ET. Monthly price gains of 0.3 percent to 0.4 percent add up over a year, and they reach household budgets through rent, groceries and fuel. This is our reading.
How we know
Notes
- 1.U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index — October 2026 (USDL-26-1685), embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, November 10, 2026. "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 index for shelter rose 0.3 percent in October, accounting for over thirty percent of the monthly all items increase." "The index for owners' equivalent rent rose 0.3 percent in October, and the index for rent increased 0.2 percent." "The food index increased 0.5 percent in October, as the food at home index rose 0.4 percent and the food away from home index increased 0.5 percent." Food was unchanged in September. "The index for energy increased 0.7 percent over the month following a 5.2-percent increase in September." "The gasoline index increased 1.0 percent over the month, after advancing 9.1 percent the previous month. (Before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices decreased 0.7 percent in October.)" "The index for electricity rose 0.9 percent over the month. In contrast, the natural gas index decreased 0.8 percent in October." "The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in October, as it did in September and August." Indexes that increased include "recreation, medical care, motor vehicle insurance, household furnishings and operations, and education." "The index for used cars and trucks declined 1.2 percent in October after rising 0.7 percent in September." "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." Before seasonal adjustment, the all-items index "increased to an index level of 337.511 (1982-84=100)" and rose 0.2 percent in the month. Unadjusted 12-month changes the release does print: gasoline +37.4 percent, new vehicles +0.7 percent, used cars and trucks −3.3 percent. Technical note: "The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in prices paid by consumers for goods and services"; prices are collected each month in 75 urban areas; seasonally adjusted data "eliminate the effect of changes that normally occur at the same time and in about the same magnitude every year-such as price movements resulting from weather events, production cycles, model changeovers, holidays, and sales." "The Consumer Price Index news release for November 2026 is scheduled to be published on Thursday, December 10, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (ET)." Bureau public data API, retrieved Nov. 10, 2026: CUSR0000SA0 October 2026 = 337.476, September 2026 = 336.298; CUUR0000SA0 October 2026 = 337.511; CUSR0000SA0L1E October 2026 = 339.900, September 2026 = 338.896; October 2025 has no value in each series. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
What is still unknown or disputed
- The 12-month change in all-items and core prices through October. The bureau did not publish them because there is no October 2025 index. It points to a fact sheet on approximating missing data, which this desk did not open.
- How the Federal Reserve will weigh the report. Its next decision is Wednesday, Dec. 9.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
Consumer Price Index — October 2026 (USDL-26-1685)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · November 10, 2026
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 index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in October, as it did in September and August. BLS cannot publish 12-month percent changes for October 2026 for indexes where October 2025 data are unavailable.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
Source 2
Public data API, CUSR0000SA0, CUUR0000SA0 and CUSR0000SA0L1E, October 2026
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · November 10, 2026
Seasonally adjusted all items, CUSR0000SA0: October 2026 = 337.476; September 2026 = 336.298. Not seasonally adjusted, CUUR0000SA0: October 2026 = 337.511. Core, CUSR0000SA0L1E: October 2026 = 339.900. October 2025: no value.
https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/