Here’s the inflation breakdown for October 2022 — in one chart
People shop for bread at a supermarket in Monterey Park, California on Oct. 19, 2022.
Frederic J. Brown | Afp | Getty Images
Inflation was cooler than expected in October, although household staples such as shelter, food and energy remained among the largest contributors to consumer prices still rising at a historically fast pace, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday.
Inflation is a measure of how quickly the prices consumers pay for a broad range of goods and services are rising.
The consumer price index, a key inflation barometer, jumped by 7.7% in October relative to a year earlier — the smallest 12-month increase since January. Economists expected a 7.9% annual increase, according to Dow Jones. Basically, a basket of goods and services that cost $100 a year ago costs $107.70 today.
The annual rate is down from June’s 9.1% pandemic-era peak and September’s 8.2% reading, but is hovering near the highest levels since the early 1980s.
“That’s obviously still very high,” said Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, of October’s reading. “But at least it’s a move in the right direction.”
A decline in the annual inflation rate doesn’t mean prices fell for goods and services; it just means prices aren’t rising as quickly.
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While the headline annual reading is generally easier for consumers to understand, the monthly change is a more accurate gauge of near-term trends, i.e., if inflation is speeding up or slowing down, economists said.
The CPI rose 0.4% from September, according to the BLS. Economists expected a 0.6% monthly increase.
“For the past year to 18 months, we’ve seen a lot of 0.4%, 0.5%, 0.6%,” Hunter said. “It’s the reason annual inflation has been so high.”
Consistent monthly readings in the 0.2% range would suggest inflation was under control, he said.
The ‘pervasiveness’ of price increases
A healthy economy experiences a small degree of inflation each year. U.S. Federal Reserve officials aim to keep inflation around 2% annually.
But prices started rising at an unusually fast pace starting in early 2021, following years of low inflation.
As the U.S. economy reopened, a supply-demand imbalance fueled inflation that was initially limited to items such as used cars, but which has since spread and lingered longer than many officials and economists had expected.
“That’s the crux of the problem: the pervasiveness of inflation,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.
Inflation was a top concern for voters heading into Tuesday’s midterm elections. An NBC News poll issued last weekend found 81% of respondents were either somewhat dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the state of the economy — a level unseen since the 2010 midterms.
The typical U.S. household spends $445 more a month to buy the same items it did a year ago, according to an estimate from Moody’s Analytics based on September’s CPI report.
Meanwhile, pay for many workers hasn’t kept pace with inflation, translating to a loss of purchasing power. Hourly earnings have fallen 2.8% in the last year after accounting for inflation, according to the BLS.
Food, energy and housing are top contributors
Large and consistent price increases in food, energy and housing have been troubling, despite some recent improvement, McBride said.
They’re necessities that constitute a large share of household spending, making inflation “so problematic” for households, he said.
“You can’t go without eating, you can’t go without cooking or heating the house and you need a roof over your head,” McBride said. “Those are three categories that continue to drive these high levels of inflation.”
Housing represents the biggest share of average consumer budgets, accounting for 34% of household spending in 2021, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Labor data. Transportation, which includes gasoline, and food are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, at 16% and 12%.
Any meaningful relief for household budgets is something that is still well over the horizon.
Greg McBride
chief financial analyst at Bankrate
Shelter prices increased in October, jumping 0.8% from September — the largest monthly increase in that category since August 1990, according to the BLS. The category is up 6.9% in the last year.
The “food at home” index — or grocery prices — jumped 12.4% in October versus the same time a year ago. That’s an improvement from 13.5% in August, which was the largest 12-month increase in more than 40 years, since 1979.
The energy category — which includes gasoline, fuel oil, natural gas and electricity — was up 17.6% last month relative to October 2021. That’s a decline from September’s 19.8%.
“Any meaningful relief for household budgets is something that is still well over the horizon,” McBride said.
Gasoline prices had been a primary irritant for many Americans earlier in the year. Prices at the pump have retreated from summer highs of more than $5 a gallon nationwide, but edged up slightly in the past week; they currently sit at an average $3.80 per gallon, per AAA.
‘We have a ways to go’
“Core” inflation — a measure that strips out food and energy costs, which can be volatile — is important in terms of predicting future inflation trends, economists said.
The measure gives a sense of how broad-based inflation has gotten. Core inflation was 6.6% in September, the largest 12-month increase since August 1982. Core inflation was up 6.3% in October over a year ago; the index rose 0.3% during the month versus 0.6% in September.
Shelter, which includes rent, was the “dominant factor” in monthly increase in “core” CPI, according to the BLS. It accounted for 40% of annual core inflation.
The CPI generally lags price dynamics in the broad housing market and likely isn’t an accurate present-day snapshot of shelter prices, economists said. Home sales and mortgage volumes have slowed significantly, leading some to declare the U.S. is in a housing recession.
Other “notable” increases in the past year include medical care (up 5%), household furnishings and operations (8.4%), new vehicles (8.4%), and personal care (6.4%), the BLS said.
Monthly increases came from shelter, motor vehicle insurance, recreation, new vehicles and personal care, according to the BLS. There were also some monthly declines: used cars and trucks, medical care, apparel and airfares, it added.
“Price pressures remain evident across a broad range of goods and services,” Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said during a press conference Nov. 2.
The central bank has been raising borrowing costs aggressively to cool the economy and reduce inflation. Powell signaled that policy would likely continue for the foreseeable future.
“I would also say it’s premature to discuss pausing [interest-rate increases],” Powell said. “And it’s not something that we’re thinking about; that’s really not a conversation to be had now.”
“We have a ways to go.”
Inflation isn’t just a U.S. phenomenon
Inflation isn’t a problem in just the U.S. Indeed, it’s been worse elsewhere.
For example, consumers in the United Kingdom saw prices increase 10.1% annually in September, tying a 40-year high hit in July.
But on the global stage, inflation first showed up in the U.S., Hunter said. That’s partly due to Covid-related restrictions unwinding sooner in many states relative to the rest of the world and federal support for households kickstarting the economic recovery.
“The U.S. has been a leading indicator for what’s happened to inflation in other countries,” Hunter said.
Inflation is a global problem worsened by geopolitical factors such as the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Pictured: damage in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Nov. 5, 2022, after shelling.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Americans had more disposable income as the economy reopened, the result of federal funds such as stimulus checks and pent-up demand from staying at home. Meanwhile, Covid-19 lockdowns roiled global supply chains — meaning ample cash ran headlong into fewer goods to buy, driving up prices.
Those supply-chain issues are “only now beginning to unwind,” Hunter said. But higher labor costs — the result of ongoing worker shortages and wages that have risen near their fastest pace in decades — have led to upward pressure on the cost of services, too, he said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also fueled a surge in commodity prices — for crude oil and grain, for example — which has fed into higher costs for gasoline and food, Hunter added.
High energy costs have broad ripple effects on other goods, which become more costly to produce and transport.
“I think this is something that will likely take much of 2023 to unfold, if we’re lucky,” McBride said.
Renewables and nuclear provided 40.9% of the world’s power generation in 2024, passing the 40% mark for the first time since the 1940s, according to a new global energy think tank Ember report.
Renewables added a record 858 TWh in 2024, 49% more than the previous high in 2022. Solar was the largest contributor for the third year running, adding 474 TWh to reach a share of 6.9%. Solar was the fastest-growing power source (+29%) for the 20th year in a row.
Solar has doubled in just three years, providing more than 2,000 TWh of electricity in 2024. Wind generation also grew to 8.1% of global electricity, while hydro – the single largest renewable source – remained steady at 14% of global electricity.
“Solar power has become the engine of the global energy transition,” said Phil MacDonald, Ember’s managing director. “Paired with battery storage, solar is set to be an unstoppable force. As the fastest-growing and largest source of new electricity, it is critical in meeting the world’s ever-increasing demand for electricity.”
Ember’s sixth annual Global Electricity Review, published today, provides the first comprehensive overview of the global power system in 2024 based on country-level data. It’s published alongside the world’s first open dataset on electricity generation in 2024, covering 88 countries that account for 93% of global electricity demand, as well as historical data for 215 countries.
What drove the rising power demand
The analysis finds that fossil fuels also saw a small 1.4% increase in 2024 due to surging electricity demand, pushing global power sector emissions up 1.6% to an all-time high.
Heatwaves were the main driver of the rise in fossil generation, accounting for almost a fifth (+0.7%) of the increase in global electricity demand in 2024 (+4.0%), mainly through additional use of cooling. Without these temperature effects, fossil fuel generation would have risen by only 0.2%, as clean electricity generation met 96% of the demand growth not caused by hotter temperatures.
“Amid the noise, it’s essential to focus on the real signal,” continued MacDonald. “Hotter weather drove the fossil generation increase in 2024, but we’re very unlikely to see a similar jump in 2025.”
Aside from weather effects, the increasing use of electricity for AI, data centers, EVs, and heat pumps is already contributing to global demand growth. Combined, the growing use of these technologies accounted for a 0.7% increase in global electricity demand in 2024, double what they contributed five years ago.
Clean power will grow faster than demand
Ember’s report shows that clean generation growth is set to outpace faster-rising demand in the coming years, marking the start of a permanent decline in fossil fuel generation. The current expected growth in clean generation would be sufficient to meet a demand increase of 4.1% per year to 2030, which is above expectations for demand growth.
“The world is watching how technologies like AI and EVs will drive electricity demand,” said MacDonald. “It’s clear that booming solar and wind are comfortably set to deliver, and those expecting fossil fuel generation to keep rising will be disappointed.”
Beyond emerging technologies, the growth trajectories of the world’s largest emerging economies will play a crucial role in defining the global outlook. More than half of the increase in solar generation in 2024 was in China, with its clean generation growth meeting 81% of its demand increase in 2024. India’s solar capacity additions in 2024 doubled compared to 2023. These two countries are at the forefront of the drive to clean power and will help tip the balance toward a decline in fossil generation at a global level.
Professor Xunpeng Shi, president of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS), said: “The future of the global power system is being shaped in Asia, with China and India at the heart of the energy transition. Their increasing reliance on renewables to power demand growth marks a shift that will redefine the global power sector and accelerate the decline of fossil fuels.”
Read more: Made-in-America solar just got a big win in Louisiana
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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The next-gen LEAF is almost here, and it’s looking better than ever. This isn’t the electric hatch you are used to seeing. Nissan’s new LEAF EV has more range, a fresh crossover design, and yes, it can finally charge up at Tesla Superchargers with an NACS port. With the official reveal just around the corner, someone already spotted the new LEAF at a Tesla charger in Canada.
Nissan is launching the new LEAF in the US and Canada
A little over a week ago, we finally got our first look at the third-generation LEAF. Nissan’s iconic electric hatch has grown into a “sleek and spacious family-friendly crossover.”
The US and Canada will be the first to see the reimagined LEAF later this year. It will join the Ariya in Nissan’s North American EV lineup as it looks to spark growth in one of its most important markets.
Based on the CMF-EV platform, the same one underpinning the Ariya, Nissan promises the new LEAF will have “significant range improvements.” Although no other details were revealed, Nissan’s vehicle programs chief, Francois Bailly, told TopGear.com that it’s expected to have WLTP driving range of up to 373 miles (600 km).
It will likely be lower on the EPA scale, but anything even close to 300 miles would be a major improvement over the current 212 EPA-estimated miles offered on the 2025 LEAF SV Plus.
The next-gen LEAF will also be Nissan’s first EV to feature an integrated NACS charging port. With its official debut later this year, the new model is out for testing and was just caught testing at a Tesla Supercharger in Canada.
If you didn’t know what vehicle it is, the LEAF is hardly recognizable. The new image from KindelAuto gives us a closer look at the new crossover design. It almost looks like a Tesla sitting in front of the charger.
The new LEAF is one of 10 new and refreshed Nissan vehicles set to launch in the US and Canada. It will arrive later this year, followed by the fourth-gen Rogue in 2026, which will be available as a PHEV for the first time.
Nissan also plans to build a new “adventure-focused SUV” at its Canton, Mississippi, plant in late 2027. The teaser shows what appears to be a rugged electric Xterra. We’ll have to wait for more details on that one.
Nissan will reveal additional info about the upcoming LEAF mid-year. Check back soon for more updates.
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The Port of Barcelona launched the Ecocat Tres, a highly efficient, all-electric commuter ferry powered by Molabo’s ARIES i50 electric motors.
Ecocat Tres is the latest zero-emission ferry in Bus Nàutic’s growing electric fleet, providing clean transportation between the Drassanes and Llevant wharves. In just its first three months, the Bus Nàutic service logged over 125,000 sustainable trips. Operated by ALSA and backed by the Port of Barcelona, the initiative offers locals and visitors an eco-friendly way to travel, cutting down on road congestion and air pollution in the bustling city.
Built by Spanish shipbuilder Metaltec Naval, Ecocat Tres is a 15-meter aluminum catamaran that carries up to 84 passengers. It even includes a rooftop deck, offering extra seating and a breezy ride across the port. The ferry runs every 15 to 30 minutes for at least 12 hours each day, with the entire trip taking about 10 minutes.
Under the deck are two powerful 48V Molabo ARIES i50 motors, enabling the electric ferry to hit a top speed of 12 knots. Cruising at its regular operational speed of 5 knots, Ecocat Tres can run efficiently for up to 21 hours on a single charge, making it highly reliable for daily commuters.
Molabo’s motors have a low-voltage setup, which makes them safer to maintain compared to traditional high-voltage electric systems. Passengers also enjoy a smoother, quieter ride thanks to significantly reduced noise and vibrations onboard. Azimut Marine supplied the full propulsion and energy system, which includes two ARIES 50 kW electric drives, 36 batteries providing a total of 216 kWh, fast chargers, and integrated solar panels. Impressively, solar power alone can cover up to 40% of the ferry’s energy needs.
Ecocat Tres will cut around 90 tons of CO2 emissions each year, making a positive impact on Barcelona’s ambitious climate goals.
Port of Barcelona president José Antonio Carbonell said, “This 100% electric, zero-emission passenger ferry is helping us reshape mobility in the port and accelerate the decarbonization of our operations.”
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
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