KEY POINTS
  • Consumer prices overall rose 0.4% in September, pushing the year-over-year gain to 5.4%.
  • Excluding food and energy, the gain was just 0.2% and 4%, respectively.
  • Energy and food prices climbed, while used car prices, which had been a central story in the inflation picture this year, declined.

Consumer prices increased slightly more than expected in September as food and energy price rises offset declines in used cars, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

The consumer price index for all items rose 0.4% for the month, compared with the 0.3% Dow Jones estimate. On a year-over-year basis, prices increased 5.4% versus the 5.3% estimate and just below a 30-year high.