U.S. inflation eased slightly in September after rising in August at the fastest pace since January, according to a government report released Friday, October 24, following a delay from its original October 15 release date due to the federal government shutdown.
Prices rose less than economists’ expectations, as higher gasoline costs were offset by easing rents and smaller increases in food, travel, and vehicle prices.
The headline monthly inflation figure showed a 0.3% increase in U.S. consumer prices for September, one-tenth below consensus estimates. It followed a 0.4% rise in August, the largest gain since January’s 0.5% increase, according to the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key inflation gauge, measures what American consumers pay for a wide range of everyday goods and services, from eggs to energy.
Food prices overall rose 0.2% in September after increasing 0.5% in August. Grocery store prices advanced 0.3% following a 0.6% gain, while restaurant prices eased to 0.1% after two consecutive 0.3% increases. Egg prices fell 4.7% after being unchanged in the previous month, following four straight declines of 3.9%, 7.4%, 2.7%, and 12.7%.
Over the past year, food prices increased 3.1%, down from 3.2%. Grocery prices rose 2.7% for a second straight month, while dining-out costs climbed 3.7% compared to 3.9% previously. Egg prices stood 1.3% below year-earlier levels — the first decline this year following January-to-August gains of 53%, 58.8%, 60.4%, 49.3%, 41.5%, 27.3%, 16.4%, and 10.9%.
In other sectors, gasoline prices jumped 4.1% in September after increasing 1.9% in August. Year over year, they declined a modest 0.5%, extending annual decreases of 6.6% in August, 9.5% in July, and 8.3% in June.
The inflation report noted that the gasoline increase "was the largest factor in the all items monthly rise."
The broader energy index, which includes gasoline, electricity, and fuel oil, rose 1.5% for the month after a 0.7% gain in August. Over the past year, energy prices increased 2.8%, following a 0.2% rise previously.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the rate of core consumer prices rose 0.2% in September, down from 0.3% in August and one-tenth below expectations.
Shelter costs increased 0.2% in September after a 0.4% rise, marking the 65th consecutive monthly increase. Over the past year, shelter prices rose 3.6% for a second straight time.
Annual shelter inflation has steadily eased from recent highs. For comparison, 12-month increases were:
- August 2025: 3.6%
- July 2025: 3.7%
- June 2025: 3.8%
- May 2025: 3.9%
- April 2025: 4.0%
- March 2025: 4.0%
- February 2025: 4.2%
- January 2025: 4.4%
- December 2024: 4.6%
- November 2024: 4.7%
- October 2024: 4.9%
- September 2024: 4.9%
- August 2024: 5.2%
- July 2024: 5.1%
- June 2024: 5.2%
- May 2024: 5.4%
- April 2024: 5.5%
- March 2024: 5.7%
- February 2024: 5.7%
- January 2024: 6.0%
- December 2023: 6.2%
- November 2023: 6.5%
- October 2023: 6.7%
- September 2023: 7.2%
- August 2023: 7.3%
- July 2023: 7.7%
- June 2023: 7.8%
- May 2023: 8.0%
- April 2023: 8.1%
- March 2023: 8.2% – the highest since June 1982
The shelter component of the CPI includes prices for items such as apartment rents, owners’ equivalent rent – a measure of what homeowners would pay to rent or earn from renting their property – lodging away from home like hotels and motels, and housing at schools.
In other key pricing categories:
- Clothing prices rose 0.7% in September after a 0.5% gain in August and were 0.1% lower than a year earlier.
- New vehicle prices increased 0.2% for the month after a 0.3% rise in August and were 0.8% higher year over year.
- Used car and truck prices fell 0.4% in September after a 1% gain in August and were 5.1% above year-earlier levels.
- Airline fares rose 2.7% in September following a 5.9% jump in August and were 3.2% higher than a year earlier.
For the headline annual rate, inflation rose 3% over the 12 months ending in September — the largest increase since January’s 3% reading, — up from August’s 2.9% pace but one-tenth of a percentage point below forecasts.
For added perspective, inflation peaked at 9.1% during the 12-month period ending in June 2022. This was the fastest rate of inflation since November 1981. Additionally, until March 2023, inflation rates had remained at or above 6% for 17 consecutive months.
Core inflation also rose 3% over the year through September, likewise coming in one-tenth of a percentage point below estimates and down from the 3.1% increase in August. This core, "all items less food and energy" index, is one of the benchmark inflation rates monitored by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to guide the central bank in setting its key interest rate.
In September 2022, the annual core inflation rate at 6.6% was the highest since August 1982. Many economists consider the core reading as a better predictor for future inflation.
The following table of key inflation figures is for the last seven months through September, as published by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/cpi) on October 24, 2025. To index the data each month, the BLS monitors the prices of about 80,000 consumer goods and services from around the nation. All monthly and annual pricing changes are in percentages.
March 2024 to September 2025 Consumer Prices – Gains & Losses in Percent
(Seasonally Adjusted from Prior Month and Unadjusted 12-Month)
| Mar 2025 | Apr 2025 | May 2025 | June 2025 | July 2025 | Aug 2025 | Sep 2025 | 12 Month | |
| All items | -0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 3.0 |
| Food | 0.4 | -0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 3.1 |
| Food at home | 0.5 | -0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -0.1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 2.7 |
| Food away from home | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 3.7 |
| Energy | -2.4 | 0.7 | -1.0 | 0.9 | -1.1 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 2.8 |
| Energy commodities | -6.1 | -0.2 | -2.4 | 1.0 | -1.9 | 1.7 | 3.8 | -0.4 |
| Gasoline (all types) | -6.3 | -0.1 | -2.6 | 1.0 | -2.2 | 1.9 | 4.1 | -0.5 |
| Fuel oil | -4.2 | -1.3 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.8 | -0.3 | 0.6 | 4.1 |
| Energy services | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.9 | -0.3 | -0.2 | -0.7 | 6.4 |
| Electricity | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.5 | 5.1 |
| Utility (piped) gas service | 3.6 | 3.7 | -1.0 | 0.5 | -0.9 | -1.6 | -1.2 | 11.7 |
| All items less food, energy | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 3.0 |
| Commodities less food, energy | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
| New vehicles | 0.1 | 0.0 | -0.3 | -0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
| Used cars and trucks | -0.7 | -0.5 | -0.5 | -0.7 | 0.5 | 1.0 | -0.4 | 5.1 |
| Apparel | 0.4 | -0.2 | -0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.7 | -0.1 |
| Medical care | -1.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.3 | -0.1 | 0.7 |
| Services less energy | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 3.5 |
| Shelter | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 3.6 |
| Transportation | -1.4 | 0.1 | -0.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.5 |
| Medical care | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | -0.1 | 0.3 | 3.9 |
The BLS releases inflation data around the middle of the month, covering consumer prices surveyed up to the previous month. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October and the latest annual period will be made public on November 13, 2025.
The CPI data is also used to calculate inflation rates and power this site’s U.S. Inflation Calculator, which displays the cumulative inflation and the change in the buying power of the U.S. dollar over time.
