U.S. inflation rose in August at the quickest pace since January, driven by higher shelter and food costs, a government report released Thursday, September 11, showed. The monthly increase came in above expectations, while the annual inflation rate — also the highest since January — matched projections.
The headline monthly inflation figure showed a 0.4% increase in U.S. consumer prices for August, one-tenth above consensus estimates. It was the biggest gain since January’s 0.5% and followed a 0.2% rise in July, 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 clothing to cars.
Food prices overall rose 0.5% in August after being flat in July. Grocery store prices advanced 0.6% following a 0.1% decline, while restaurant prices posted a second straight 0.3% monthly gains. Egg prices were unchanged after four consecutive drops of 3.9%, 7.4%, 2.7%, and 12.7%.
Over the past year, food prices increased 3.2%, up from 2.9%. Grocery prices climbed 2.7% compared to 2.2% a month earlier, while dining-out costs increased 3.9% for a second time. Egg prices stood 10.9% above year-earlier levels.
In other sectors, gasoline prices rose 1.9% in August after falling 2.2% in July. Year over year, they were down 6.6%, extending annual declines of 9.5% in July and 8.3% in June.
The broader energy index, which includes gasoline, electricity, and fuel oil, climbed 0.7% for the month after 1.1% drop in July. Over the past year, energy prices edged up 0.2%, following a 1.6% decline previously.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the rate of core consumer prices rose 0.3% in August, the same as in July and in line with expectations.
Shelter costs increased 0.4% in August after two straight 0.2% monthly gains, marking the 64th consecutive monthly rise. Over the past year, shelter prices advanced 3.6%, slightly below July’s 3.7% pace.
Annual shelter inflation has steadily eased from recent highs. For comparison, 12-month increases were:
- 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 0.5% in August after a 0.1% gain in July and were 0.2% higher than a year earlier.
- New vehicle prices increased 0.3% for the month after being flat in July and were 0.7% higher year over year.
- Used car and truck prices rose 1% in August after a 0.5% gain in July and were 6% above year-earlier levels.
- Airline fares jumped 5.9% in August following a 4% gain in July and were 3.3% higher than a year earlier.
For the headline annual rate, inflation rose 2.9% over the 12 months ending in August, the largest increase since January’s 3% reading, up from July’s 2.7% pace and matching most 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 rose 3.1% over the year through August, the same as in July. 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 August, as published by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/cpi) on September 11, 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.
February 2024 to August 2025 Consumer Prices – Gains & Losses in Percent
(Seasonally Adjusted from Prior Month and Unadjusted 12-Month)
| Feb 2025 | May 2025 | Apr 2025 | May 2025 | June 2025 | July 2025 | Aug 2025 | 12 Month | |
| All items | 0.2 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 2.9 |
| Food | 0.2 | 0.4 | -0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 3.2 |
| Food at home | 0.0 | 0.5 | -0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -0.1 | 0.6 | 2.7 |
| Food away from home | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.9 |
| Energy | 0.2 | -2.4 | 0.7 | -1.0 | 0.9 | -1.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 |
| Energy commodities | -0.9 | -6.1 | -0.2 | -2.4 | 1.0 | -1.9 | 1.7 | -6.2 |
| Gasoline (all types) | -1.0 | -6.3 | -0.1 | -2.6 | 1.0 | -2.2 | 1.9 | -6.6 |
| Fuel oil | 0.8 | -4.2 | -1.3 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.8 | -0.3 | -0.5 |
| Energy services | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.9 | -0.3 | -0.2 | 7.7 |
| Electricity | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 6.2 |
| Utility (piped) gas service | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 | -1.0 | 0.5 | -0.9 | -1.6 | 13.8 |
| All items less food, energy | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.1 |
| Commodities less food, energy | 0.2 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.5 |
| New vehicles | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | -0.3 | -0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| Used cars and trucks | 0.9 | -0.7 | -0.5 | -0.5 | -0.7 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 6.0 |
| Apparel | 0.6 | 0.4 | -0.2 | -0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| Medical care | 0.1 | -1.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.3 | 0.0 |
| Services less energy | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 3.6 |
| Shelter | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 3.6 |
| Transportation | -0.8 | -1.4 | 0.1 | -0.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 3.5 |
| Medical care | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | -0.1 | 4.2 |
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 September and the latest annual period will be made public on October 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.
