The Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped slightly to 7.7% in October, down five-tenths of a percent from September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. The CPI, which measures changes in the prices of a variety of consumer goods and services, was at 8.2% last month. Inflation is also somewhat lower than expected by analysts, at around 8%.
In the last month, prices rose 0.4%, equal to the previous month’s increase and slightly below the estimated 0.6%. Excluding food and fuel, the core inflation index went down to 6.3% compared to 6.6% in the previous month.
Inflation has been at abnormally high levels since the spring of 2022 with steady price increases every month. The Federal Reserve has made several rate hikes this year to try to control it. The recent data showing a slight ease in inflation helped boost the main Wall Street indexes at opening: the S&P rose by 3.4%, the Dow Jones by 2.25% and the Nasdaq technology index by 4.7%.
In any case, despite the slowdown in the inflation rate, it remains well above the Fed's 2% target and numerous reports point out the rising cost of living.
