U.S. Producer Prices Rise 0.3% in October, Annual Increase Reaches 6.5%
Key Facts
The U.S. Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.3% month over month in October, according to data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on November 13. The increase was below EL7’s 0.4% forecast and slowed from 1.4% in September. Year over year, the index rose 6.5% in the 12 months ended in October, its biggest increase since a 7.4% rise in November 2022. The reading combines a clear slowdown in the monthly increase from the previous month with a persistently high annual rate. The performance of U.S. stocks after the data were released during the November 13 session could not be verified from a reliable open source.
The measure of prices for final demand excluding food, energy and trade services rose 0.5% in October, the same rate recorded in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The measure increased 4.9% in the 12 months ended in October. These figures offer a different picture from the overall index: the measure excluding food, energy and trade services did not slow month over month, even as the overall index’s monthly increase fell. In another core measure, which excludes only food and energy, prices rose 0.3% in October, compared with a 0.7% increase in September. Core prices rose 5% year over year in October, the same rate recorded in September, according to the Associated Press.
The monthly increase in the overall index was spread across goods and services: prices for final-demand goods rose 0.5% in October, while service prices increased 0.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The agency attributed more than 60% of the rise in goods prices to components unrelated to food and energy. On the services side, truck freight transportation accounted for more than 80% of the monthly increase in the final-demand services index. Truck freight transportation prices rose 3.9% in October. The breakdown highlights the weight of transportation costs in the month’s movement in service prices, alongside the increase in goods prices.
The producer-price reading follows the October consumer-price report, which showed a monthly increase of 0.4%, compared with economists’ forecast of a 0.3% rise, according to the Associated Press. The monthly increase in consumer prices was slower than the 0.6% rise in the previous month but exceeded expectations. The agency said inflation remained well above the Federal Reserve’s annual 2% target. It also reported that many central bank officials indicated after the consumer-price data that they would likely see a need to raise the short-term interest rate again, and perhaps more than once, to address price pressures. But October’s monthly producer-price reading came in below EL7’s forecast and by itself does not establish that the Fed will make larger rate increases.
The Federal Reserve’s calendar includes a noon speech by Chair Kevin Warsh on November 17, 2026, at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Productivity and Jobs team conference. The speech comes after the release of October producer- and consumer-price data, as monthly and annual inflation signals diverge. The next Federal Open Market Committee meeting is scheduled for December 8 and 9, a meeting associated with the Summary of Economic Projections, according to the central bank’s calendar. Ahead of the meeting, the November consumer-price reading is scheduled for release on December 10 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. It will be followed by the November producer-price reading on December 15 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ calendar.