11/10/2021

Prices Climbed 6.2 Percent in October Compared With Last Year

It’s unclear when supply chains will clear

Prices rose 6.2 percent in October compared with a year ago, the largest annual increase in about 30 years, as rising inflation complicates the political agenda for the White House and policymakers' road map for the economy heading into the end of the year.

Forecasters expected a surge in October's inflation data, released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in large part because of soaring gas and energy prices, plus ongoing supply chain backlogs in the used-car market. The energy index rose 4.8 percent in October compared with the month before, as the gasoline index increased 6.1 percent. Such high energy and gas prices are spilling into the costs of just about every other good, economists say, and pinching an already strained supply chain.

Yet, inflation expanded to other categories, increasing throughout the economy, with the BLS noting “broad-based” higher prices for energy, shelter, food, used cars and trucks and new vehicles among the larger contributors. The indexes for medical care, for household furnishing and operations, and for recreation all increased in October.

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