Inflation Builds With Biggest Gain in Consumer Prices Since 1990

Prices paid by U.S. consumers accelerated in October from a year earlier by the most since 1990, exceeding forecasts and adding to evidence of building inflationary pressures as companies find more success in passing on higher costs.

The consumer price index increased 6.2% from October 2020, according to Labor Department data released Wednesday. The CPI rose 0.9% from September, the largest advance in four months.

The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 5.9% gain from a year earlier in the overall CPI and a 0.6% increase from the prior month.

Against a backdrop of solid demand, businesses have been steadily raising prices for consumer goods and services at the same time supply chain bottlenecks and a shortage of qualified workers drive up costs. Many economists, including some at the Federal Reserve, expect those price pressures to persist into next year, keeping inflation elevated.

A report on Tuesday showed prices paid to U.S. producers also accelerated last month, largely due to higher goods costs, and adding to concerns about persistent price pressures across the globe. In China, inflation at the factory level last month increased by the most in 26 years, while consumer prices in Brazil sped up by more than forecast.