CPI inflation October 2024:

Inflation edged up in October, but broadly in line with Wall Street expectations, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.

The consumer price indexwhich measures costs across a spectrum of goods and services, rose 0.2% for the month. That took the 12-month inflation rate to 2.6%, up 0.2 percentage points from September.

The readings were both in line with the Dow Jones estimates.

Apart from food and energy, the displacement was even more pronounced. Core CPI accelerated 0.3% for the month and stood at 3.3% annually, also in line with forecasts.

Stock market futures moved higher after the announcement, while government yields fell.

Energy costs, which had been falling in recent months, were unchanged in October, while the food index rose 0.2%. On an annual basis, energy consumption fell by 4.9%, while food increased by 2.1%.

Despite signs that inflation was easing elsewhere, house prices continued to be a major contributor to CPI movement. The Shelter Index, which weighs about a third of the broader index, climbed another 0.4% in October, doubling its move in September and rising 4.9% year-on-year. The category was responsible for more than half of the gain in the CPI measure for all goods, according to the BLS.

Used vehicle costs also rose, up 2.7% month-on-month, while motor insurance fell 0.1% but was still higher at 14% over the 12-month period. Airfare rose 3.2%, while eggs fell 6.4%, but were still 30.4% higher than a year ago.

Adjusted for inflation average hourly wage for workers rose 0.1% for the month and 1.4% from a year ago, the BLS said in a separate report.

The readings took inflation further away from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and could complicate the central bank’s monetary policy strategy going forward, especially with a new administration taking over the White House in January.

“No CPI surprises, so for now the Fed should be on track to cut rates again in December. Next year, however, is a different story given the uncertainty surrounding potential tariffs and other Trump administration policies,” said Ellen Zentner, chief. financial strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “Markets are already weighing the possibility that the Fed will cut fewer times in 2025 than previously thought, and that they could hit the pause button as early as January.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to implement more tariffs and government spending have the potential to both boost growth and worsen inflation, which remains a major concern for US households despite easing from its meteoric peak in the mid-2000s. 2022.

As a result, in recent days traders have scaled back their expectations for the upcoming interest rate cuts from the Fed. The central bank has already cut 0.75 percentage points from its prime lending rate and was expected to move aggressively forward.

However, traders now expect just another three-quarters of a point in cuts to the end of 2025, about half a point less than priced in before the presidential election.