U.S. consumer prices saw their highest increase in seven months during November, though in line with economists’ expectations. Rising shelter costs – encompassing rental prices, owners’ equivalent rent, and hotel rates – remained the primary driver of overall inflation, bolstered by increases in food, energy, vehicles, clothing, and healthcare.
Rises in shelter prices accounted "for nearly forty percent of the monthly all items increase," the Labor Department’s monthly inflation report noted.
The headline inflation figure shows that U.S. consumer prices rose by 0.3% in November, the biggest gain since April, following four consecutive monthly increases of 0.2%, according to the Labor Department’s December 11 report on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The CPI, a closely watched inflation gauge, measures what American consumers pay for a broad range of everyday items, from clothes to cars.
Overall, food prices advanced by 0.4% for the month, following a 0.2% increase in October. Within the food category, grocery store prices increased by 0.5% after a 0.1% rise, while dining-out expenses grew by 0.3% compared to the previous 0.2% gain.
Meanwhile, over the past year, food prices rose by 2.4%, up from 2.1%. Grocery prices increased by 1.6%, compared to a previous rise of 1.1%, while dining-out costs climbed by 3.6%, down from the prior increase of 3.8%.
In other sectors, pump prices rose by 0.6% in November after a 0.9% decline in October. Year-over-year, gas prices fell by 8.1%, compared to the previous decrease of 12.2%.
The broader energy index, which includes items like gasoline, electricity, and fuel oil, edged up by 0.2% after remaining unchanged in October. Year-over-year, energy prices decreased by 3.2%, compared to the previous decline of 4.9%.
Excluding volatile food and energy components, the rate of core consumer prices rose by 0.3% for the fourth consecutive month in November.
Shelter or housing prices increased by 0.3% for the month, marking their 55th consecutive monthly rise, following a 0.4% gain. Year-over-year, they increased by 4.7%, down from a 4.9% rise.
Other recent 12-month comparisons show gains of 4.9% in September, 5.2% in August, 5.1% in July, 5.2% in June, 5.4% in May, 5.5% in April, 5.7% in both March and February, 6% in January, 6.2% in December 2023, 6.5% in November 2023, 6.7% in October 2023, 7.2% in September 2023, 7.3% in August 2023, 7.7% in July 2023, 7.8% in June 2023, 8% in May 2023, 8.1% in April 2023, and 8.2% in March 2023, the latter being the most significant annual increase since June 1982.
Components of shelter include prices of items like rent for apartments, rental equivalence, lodging away from home such as hotels and motels, and housing at schools. This index accounts for about one-third of the entire CPI.
In other closely watched pricing areas:
- Clothing prices rose by 0.2% for the month after a previous decline of 1.5%, advancing 1.1% from a year ago.
- New vehicle prices increased by 0.6% in November after remaining unchanged in October, but they showed a year-over-year decline of 0.7%.
- Used car and truck prices rose by 2% during the month, following a previous 2.7% increase. Year-over-year, they fell by 3.4%.
- Airline fares surged by 4.7% compared to the previous year. For the month, they climbed by 0.4% following two consecutive 3.2% increases.
In terms of the headline annual rate, inflation rose by 2.7% for the 12 months ending in November, the largest increase since July, compared to the prior 2.6% increase.
For a broader perspective and a look further back, the inflation rate 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.
Meanwhile, core inflation increased by 3.3% in the year through November for the third consecutive time. 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-line core inflation clears the way for a rate cut at next week’s [Federal Open Market Committee] meeting," CNBC quoted Whitney Watson, global co-head and co-CIO for fixed income at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. "Following today’s data the Fed will depart for the holiday break still confident in the disinflation process and we think it remains on course for further gradual easing in the new year."
As recently as 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 November, as published by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/cpi) on December 11, 2024. 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.
May 2024 to November 2024 Consumer Prices – Gains & Losses in Percent
(Seasonally Adjusted from Prior Month and Unadjusted 12-Month)
| May 2024 | June 2024 | July 2024 | Aug 2024 | Sept 2024 | Oct 2024 | Nov 2024 | 12 Month | |
| All items | 0.0 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 2.7 |
| Food | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 2.4 |
| Food at home | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1.6 |
| Food away from home | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 3.6 |
| Energy | -2.0 | -2.0 | 0.0 | -0.8 | -1.9 | 0.0 | 0.2 | -3.2 |
| Energy commodities | -3.5 | -3.7 | 0.1 | -0.6 | -4.0 | -1.0 | 0.5 | -8.5 |
| Gasoline (all types) | -3.6 | -3.8 | 0.0 | -0.6 | -4.1 | -0.9 | 0.6 | -8.1 |
| Fuel oil | -0.4 | -2.4 | 0.9 | -1.9 | -6.0 | -4.6 | 0.6 | -19.5 |
| Energy services | -0.2 | -0.1 | -0.1 | -0.9 | 0.7 | 1.0 | -0.1 | 2.8 |
| Electricity | 0.0 | -0.7 | 0.1 | -0.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 | -0.4 | 3.1 |
| Utility (piped) gas service | -0.8 | 2.4 | -0.7 | -1.9 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.8 |
| All items less food, energy | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.3 |
| Commodities less food, energy | 0.0 | -0.1 | -0.3 | -0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | -0.6 |
| New vehicles | -0.5 | -0.2 | -0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 | -0.7 |
| Used cars and trucks | 0.6 | -1.5 | -2.3 | -1.0 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 2.0 | -3.4 |
| Apparel | -0.3 | 0.1 | -0.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | -1.5 | 0.2 | 1.1 |
| Medical care | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | -0.2 | -0.7 | -0.2 | -0.1 | 0.4 |
| Services less energy | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 4.6 |
| Shelter | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 4.7 |
| Transportation | -0.5 | -0.5 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 7.1 |
| Medical care | 0.3 | 0.2 | -0.3 | -0.1 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 3.7 |
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 December and the latest annual period will be made public on January 15, 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.
