Soft landing? Not so fast: Inflation heated back up in October

  • CNN
  • November 27, 2024
CNN

 — 

The Federal Reserve's favored inflation gauge just moved in the wrong direction. It comes as President-elect Donald Trump promises massive tariffs that could push the cost of living even higher.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 2.3% in October from the year before, accelerating from the 2.1% pace notched in September, according to Commerce Department data released Wednesday.

The process of reining in high inflation was expected to be bumpy, and the latest reading may be just that. However, some persistent price pressures (for significant expenses like rents and mortgages) are keeping inflation from stabilizing at the central bank's target 2% rate.

On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.2%, matching the gain seen in September.

Economists were anticipating that inflation would run hotter in October, in part because of stubborn housing-related costs and some price hikes considered one-time in nature, as well as unfavorable comparisons to a year-ago period when inflation cooled rapidly.

Consensus estimates called for a 0.2% monthly increase and for the annual rate to climb to 2.3%, according to FactSet.