Consumer prices rose at a slower pace in October than in the previous month, but forecasters suspect the slight slowdown in inflation will likely not be enough to spare Americans from higher borrowing costs as the Federal Reserve weighs another interest rate hike in December.
U.S. consumer prices climbed 0.4% over the month in October, down from a 0.6% rise in September, the Labor Department said Nov. 10.
Because a federal government shutdown suspended the department's data collection in October last year, it did not report last month's annual inflation rate or year-over-year price changes.
The 0.4% rise in prices over the month is higher than forecasters expected. Before the report's release, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland's "Nowcast" projected
prices increased by 0.24% in October.
That means in the last month alone, worker pay growth kept pace with inflation. Average hourly earnings for employees on private nonfarm payrolls were up 0.4% last month, the department estimated Nov. 6. It does not mean paychecks outpaced inflation over the year. They did not in September, August, or July.
(This is a developing story that will be updated to add new information.)
Reach economy reporter Rachel Barber at rbarber@usatoday.com. Follow her on X @rachelbarber_ and on LinkedIn.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Inflation slowed in October, but annual data missing after shutdown
