US wholesale inflation rises to 6.5% in October as food and freight costs climb

Wholesale prices still elevated

The producer price index, which captures inflation before goods reach consumers, rose 0.3% in October from September, after a 1.4% jump in the previous month. Against October 2025 it climbed 6.5%, up from 6.3% in September and the largest annual increase since November 2022, according to the Labor Department report released on Friday, 13 November. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.3% over the month after 0.7% in September. AP and CNN put the core annual rate at 5%, while Notícias ao Minuto reported 4.9%, down from 5% in September.

September 20261.4%

October 20260.3%

September 2026

1.4 %

October 2026

0.3 %

Data from the article text

Freight, food and diesel

Energy prices levelled off in October, but high fuel costs kept spreading through the supply chain. Wholesale diesel fell 7.9% over the month, yet prices for freight shipped by truck jumped 3.9% and food prices rose 1.3%, the fastest monthly rise since July 2022 according to CNN. Vegetable prices surged about 27% after a 31% increase in September, Axios reported, while CNN put the October gain at 26.7%. Ben Ayers, a senior economist at Nationwide, wrote in a note what the trend means for the wider economy.

“Costs for food and transportation climbed sharply as high fuel prices flow into other parts of the economy”

Axios put truck transportation costs almost 25% above a year earlier, the largest annual increase since May 2022, and linked part of the freight rise to a regulatory crackdown affecting immigrant truck drivers.

Electronic components4.2%

Industrial chemicals3.1%

Truck freight3.9%

Food1.3%

Wholesale diesel-7.9%

Electronic components

4.2 %

Industrial chemicals

3.1 %

Truck freight

3.9 %

Food

1.3 %

Wholesale diesel

-7.9 %

Data from the article text

Electronics, chemicals and the AI buildout

Electronic components rose 4.2% in October and are 31.7% higher than a year earlier, the highest annual rate in BLS data that goes back to December 1966, CNN reported. Industrial chemical prices rose 3.1% over the month, while basic organic chemicals derived from petroleum and natural gas rose almost 4%, according to Axios. AP reported that the buildout of artificial intelligence data centers is also pushing up a range of costs. The producer index does not translate directly into the Consumer Price Index, but CNN noted that its category-specific increases can point to what consumers may see in the months ahead.

Consumer prices, groceries and the midterms

The consumer price index, published on Tuesday, 10 November, accelerated in October as costs rose across a wide range of goods and services. Grocery prices rose 0.5% in October, their biggest monthly jump since April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Andy Harig of FMI, the Food Industry Association, said fuel and diesel costs can take months to reach grocery prices. Democrats gained in the midterm elections, and Senator Cory Booker criticized a Trump plan to cut SNAP benefits for 6.3 million of the roughly 36 million people in the program. Ali Bustamante, an economics professor at Louisiana State University, said the expectation is not for prices to fall in the short term or the long term.

Fed rate hike bets

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the Federal Reserve not to raise rates because of what he called an energy supply shock tied to the US-led conflict with Iran. In a CNBC interview on Friday, 13 November, he said the underlying US economy is very strong.

“I think the Fed should understand that this is an energy supply shock”

The Fed kept its rate at 3.75 to 4 percent at its last meeting and has held rates five times and raised them once since the conflict began. CME FedWatch gives an 89.4% chance of a rise to 4.00-4.25% at the December 8-9 meeting. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he planned to support a quarter-point increase at that meeting, subject to a condition tied to core consumer prices. A stronger-than-expected jobs report, with 165,000 jobs added in October, strengthens the case for a hike.