September CPI Rises 3.7% From a Year Earlier as Gasoline Jumps 9.1%; Nasdaq Falls About 2% at Midday as October Rate-Hike Odds Climb to 41.5%
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on October 14 that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers rose 0.6 percent in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, after rising 0.4 percent in August, and was 3.7 percent higher than a year earlier, up from a 3.4 percent annual rate in August and above the 3.6 percent median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones (release USDL-26-1574).
Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3 percent for the month, matching August, and 2.6 percent over the year, up from 2.4 percent in August and above consensus expectations of 0.2 percent monthly and 2.5 percent annually. The report is the final CPI reading before the Federal Reserve's October 27-28 policy meeting; the BLS is scheduled to release September producer prices on October 15.
Gasoline accounted for more than half of the monthly all-items increase, jumping 9.1 percent in September and 34.2 percent over the year. The energy index rose 5.2 percent in September, after a 2.1 percent increase in August, and was up 20.4 percent over the year; fuel oil rose 15.3 percent for the month and 74.2 percent over the year. AAA put the national average price of regular gasoline at $4.33 a gallon on October 14.
Shelter costs rose 0.4 percent in September after a 0.3 percent August increase, with owners' equivalent rent up 0.3 percent, rent up 0.2 percent and lodging away from home up 2.0 percent. The food index was unchanged, as food at home fell 0.1 percent and food away from home rose 0.2 percent; food prices were up 2.5 percent over the year. Other categories that rose included recreation (up 0.5 percent), used cars and trucks (up 0.7 percent), education (up 0.6 percent), airline fares (up 1.2 percent, and up 22.4 percent over the year), medical care and apparel (up 0.3 percent), while the communication index fell 0.2 percent. The September CPI-U level was 336.940.
Stocks were lower at midday. According to Investor's Business Daily and Wall Street Journal live market coverage, the Nasdaq Composite fell about 2 percent, the S&P 500 dropped about 1.2 to 1.3 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed about 0.4 percent, the Russell 2000 fell about 2 percent and the PHLX Semiconductor Index lost about 4 percent, with SI-linked shares CoreWeave and Nebius down about 15 percent and 10 percent. The 10-year Treasury yield, which had spiked above 5.32 percent after the CPI release, eased to about 5.21 percent by midday. CME FedWatch pricing put the odds of a quarter-point Fed rate hike in October at 41.5 percent, up from 22.1 percent on Tuesday. West Texas Intermediate crude rose about 2 percent to around $95.60 a barrel. Bank of America shares fell about 7 percent as investors weighed its third-quarter results and a $1.2 billion regulatory penalty.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the month's core inflation reading was a temporary blip and that more data was needed before the Fed decides on rates.
(Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI release USDL-26-1574, Oct. 14, 2026; Investor's Business Daily, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC and Morningstar, Oct. 14, 2026)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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