Here's the inflation breakdown for September 2026 — in one chart

The inflation rate increased in September on the back of higher gasoline and energy prices amid the Iran war, further squeezing households' budgets and perhaps putting pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, economists said. The consumer price index rose by 3.7% in September from 12 months earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. That's up from a 3.4% annual pace in August. Economists may be more concerned about the reading for "core" CPI, a measure that strips out food and energy prices, which can be volatile, and is often used to examine underlying inflation dynamics in the U.S. economy. That reading jumped to 2.6% in September from 2.4% in August.