Responding to the September data, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said the CPI report was "higher than I would have hoped," while Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack warned that consumers increasingly view high inflation as a "fact of life." The Cleveland Fed's measures showed median CPI rose 0.23% on the month, or 2.8% annualized, for a 2.6% annual gain, while trimmed mean CPI increased 0.29% on the month, or 3.5% annualized, and 2.7% over 12 months. Meanwhile, the Social Security Administration announced a 3.6% cost of living adjustment for 2027.
Headline CPI rose 0.6% in September and 3.7% from a year earlier, outpacing 3% average wage growth in the final inflation report before the Nov. 3 midterm elections as gasoline jumped 9.1% on the month and core CPI climbed 0.3% to 2.6% annually. In crypto markets, Bitcoin extended its slide below $82,000, falling more than 2%, while Ethereum, XRP and Solana each dropped nearly 3.5%.