October Inflation Runs Hotter Than Expected as Shelter and Food Prices Jump

Prices kept climbing in October, and a little faster than Wall Street expected.

The consumer price index rose 0.4% from September, the Labor Department said Tuesday, as shelter and food prices jumped ^[1]. The increase was slightly above forecasts but below September's 0.6% rise ^[2].

There is a hole in the data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics could not say how much prices rose over the past year, because last year's government shutdown wiped out the comparison month ^[3].

It was the first inflation report since midterm elections that hinged on affordability ^[4], and it lands with the Federal Reserve already leaning toward another rate increase. CBS News reported the hotter reading raised expectations of a hike at the Fed's December meeting ^[5].

For families, the numbers confirm what the grocery receipt already says. Rent and food, the two bills nobody can skip, are still going up.