Consumer Price Index: Inflation Cools to 2.4% in September

Inflation cooled for a sixth straight month in September, dropping to its lowest level since February 2021. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the headline figure for the Consumer Price Index fell to 2.4% year-over-year, slightly above economist expectations of 2.3%. Additionally, core CPI rose to 3.3% as expected, a tad above expectations. Compared to last month, headline prices were up 0.2%, more than expected, while core prices rose 0.3% — also slightly above forecasts.

Here is the introduction from the BLS summary, which leads with the seasonally adjusted monthly data:

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the same increase as in August and July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.4 percent before seasonal adjustment.

The index for shelter rose 0.2 percent in September, and the index for food increased 0.4 percent. Together, these two indexes contributed over 75 percent of the monthly all items increase. The food at home index increased 0.4 percent in September and the food away from home index rose 0.3 percent over the month. The energy index fell 1.9 percent over the month, after declining 0.8 percent the preceding month.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3 percent in September, as it did the preceding month. Indexes which increased in September include shelter, motor vehicle insurance, medical care, apparel, and airline fares. The indexes for recreation and communication were among those that decreased over the month.

The all items index rose 2.4 percent for the 12 months ending September, the smallest 12-month increase since February 2021. The all items less food and energy index rose 3.3 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index decreased 6.8 percent for the 12 months ending September. The food index increased 2.3 percent over the last year.