Consumer prices rose 7.7% for the year ending in October, according to data released Thursday. The report was better than expected and surprised investors, with . But the Federal Reserve still has far to go in its battle to tame inflation.
The Consumer Price Index, which measures the changes in prices for a variety of consumer goods and services, was lower than the 8.2% reading in September.
"Today's CPI report shows inflation is moving in the right direction," said Eric Merlis, managing director, co-head of global markets at Citizens. "The report provides ammunition for the Fed to begin pricing in sub 75-basis-point tightenings. This will be a welcome development for the Fed."
On a monthly basis, prices rose by 0.4%. That's on par with the previous month's increase of 0.4%. Economists were anticipating the monthly figure to grow, given October's surge in energy prices.
Still, there appeared to be some gains made in a measurement watched even more closely by the Fed: Core CPI, which excludes the more volatile categories of food and energy, was 6.3% for the year ended in October and down from the 6.6% increase posted in September.
Month-on-month, core CPI increased 0.3%. It had logged monthly increases of 0.6% in both August and September.
This story is developing and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
� & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
