US consumer prices, September 2026: headline 3.7%, core 2.6%

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on 14 October 2026 that the consumer price index for all urban consumers rose 0.6% in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, after 0.4% in August, and 3.7% over the last twelve months, up from 3.4%.¹ The index excluding food and energy rose 0.3% in the month and 2.6% over the year, up from 2.4%, leaving a gap of 1.1 percentage points between the headline and the core rate. Energy prices rose much faster than the rest of the index: the energy index increased 5.2% in September and 20.4% over twelve months, with gasoline up 9.1% in the month and 34.2% on a year earlier, and BLS notes that gasoline accounted for over half of the monthly all-items increase. The food index was unchanged in September and 2.5% higher than a year earlier, and shelter rose 0.4% in the month and 3.2% over the year. In Figure 1 the twelve-month headline rate is below its May 2026 level but above the 2.4% recorded in January and February, while the core rate has stayed between about 2.4% and 2.9% throughout 2026. The chart has no October 2025 observation because BLS did not publish an index for that month.²