US inflation rose to 2.6% in October, up from September’s annual rate of 2.4%, a rise driven largely by persistent increases in shelter costs.

from Wednesday Consumer Price Index Report from the US Labor Department finds that the average cost of goods and services rose 0.2% on a monthly basis in October, matching increases in each of the past three months. The shelter price index rose 0.4% last month, accounting for more than half of the monthly rise in inflation. Shelter-related costs, calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics using data from new rents, existing leases and a rent-equivalent calculation for owner-occupied properties, rose 4.9% on an annual basis in October.

Wednesday’s report is the first release of new federal inflation data since former President Donald Trump’s landslide election victory last week, one that saw economic problems at or near the top of most voters’ worry lists.

Core inflation, a measure that strips out volatile food and energy prices, came in at 3.3 percent year-on-year in October, up 0.3 percent on a monthly basis, according to the report.

Food prices continued a trend of slowing price growth, rising 0.1% from September to October and 1.1% more expensive than this time last year. Food away from home prices rose slightly more than 0.2% month-on-month, and the cost of dining out was 3.8% higher in October over the past 12 months.

Gasoline prices fell 0.9% month-on-month in October, and average pump prices were 12.2% lower than this time a year ago. The average price for a gallon of regular in Utah was $3.21 on Wednesday, down 25 cents from a month ago, according to data released by AAA. Utah gas prices run well north of the national average of $3.08 per gallon.

The Mountain West states, which include Utah, had the lowest regional inflation in the country last month, with prices for goods and services rising 1.3 percent over the past 12 months.

While CPI inflation rose for the first time in seven months in October, most economists believe the downward trend of the past two years will resume, according to a report from The Associated Press.

“Inflation is turning out to be a little sticky, but not a big problem,” Ryan Sweet, chief economist at Oxford Economics, a consulting firm, told the AP. “What I think that means for the Fed is that they can still cut in December.”

Rising inflation follows Fed tapering

To her last week’s policy meetingThe Federal Reserve cut its benchmark federal funds rate by 0.25%, following on from the 0.5% cut seen at its last meeting in September.

The Fed, which is guided by its dual mandate from Congress to maintain maximum employment alongside price stability, shifted gears this fall as U.S. inflation moved closer to the body’s 2 percent target, dropping the more restrictive stance of monetary policy in an effort to support a slowing labor market.

In a press conference last Thursday following the conclusion of his meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell noted that recent economic reports reflect a positive U.S. economic climate, albeit one in which housing costs remain an outlier against the backdrop of costs for other consumer goods and services that are rising at a much lower rate as CPI inflation peaked at 9.1% in mid-2022.

“Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace,” Powell said. “GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.8% in the third quarter, about the same pace as in the second quarter. Growth in consumer spending remained resilient. In contrast, activity in the housing sector was weak. In the labor market, conditions remain solid. Wage earnings fell from the start of the year, averaging 104,000 per month over the past three months. This figure would have been somewhat higher if not for the effect of the October strikes and hurricanes.”

While Powell was repeatedly asked at last week’s news conference to provide an analysis of how the US economy and the Fed’s policy stance going forward will be influenced by the outcome of the presidential election, the Fed chairman noted that no policy changes have been made yet. and declined to speculate on potential future actions by the incoming Trump administration.

“In the short term, the election will have no effect on our policy decisions,” Powell said. “Here, we don’t know what the timing and substance of any policy changes will be. Therefore, we do not know what the effects on the economy will be. We don’t guess, we don’t speculate and we don’t assume.”