Inflation Hits 30-Year High

The consumer price index (CPI) climbed 0.4% last month, bumping the annual U.S. inflation rate to 5.4% — a 30-year high, according to MarketWatch.com. The core rate, which omits volatile food and energy costs, is growing 4% annually.

Inflation at the wholesale level (final demand index) rose 8.6% in September compared to a year ago.

One alternative inflation gauge, the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank Median CPI — which has a superior record of forecasting price trends — rose to 3.6% in September compared with the same month a year ago, well above its 2% average between 2012 and 2019. 10/13/2021