The Consumer Price Index increased 0.9% in October, bringing the key inflation indicator’s year-over-year increase to 6.2% as supply shortages continue and demand grows, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Wednesday.
The year-over-year inflation figure is an increase from September’s 5.3% level, marking the highest level in 30 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)report. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal projected the CPI would increase to just 5.9% in October.
The core price index, which excludes volatile categories like food and energy, jumped 0.6% in October, an increase from September’s 0.2% figure, according to the BLS.
“I do think we’re moving into a new phase where inflation is broader and where things are going to get a little more intense,” Laura Rosner-Warburton, senior economist at MacroPolicy Perspectives, told the WSJ. “Part of that reflects that [supply-chain] bottlenecks are not resolved going into the holiday season, when a lot of purchases get made, and that the economy is doing really well, so you have strong demand.”
Food prices increased 0.9%, the same increase experienced in September, while the energy index jumped 4.8%.
Additionally, the Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures inflation at the wholesale level, rose 8.6% year-over-year as of October, the BLSannounced Tuesday.
The Federal Reserve announced on Nov. 3 that it would begin scaling back its monthly bond purchases by $15 billion starting in November to combat growing inflation. The Fed did not say it would raise interest rates from around the current near-zero level.
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