Your Money · Report · File No. 261114-297
Wholesale prices up 6.5% in a year, the biggest jump since November 2022
The Labor Department says wholesale prices were 6.5% higher in October than a year earlier, the fastest pace in nearly four years. Higher costs for businesses often reach store shelves, and the Fed may raise borrowing costs again.
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Wholesale prices were 6.5% higher in October than a year earlier. That is the biggest yearly increase since November 2022, the Labor Department said Friday 13. In September the yearly rate was 6.3%, and a year ago it was just 3.1% 1.
The measure is called the producer price index. It tracks what businesses pay for goods and services before those costs reach shoppers 1.
A slower month, but a high yearly rate
From September to October, the index rose 0.3%. That was down from a 1.4% jump the month before 1. CNBC reported that Wall Street economists had expected a 0.4% gain 2.
Food is one place shoppers may notice. The Labor Department said wholesale food prices rose 1.3% in October, while wholesale energy prices edged down 0.1% 3. Final demand goods, meaning finished products headed for sale, rose 0.5% for the month 3. Goods prices are up 10.2% from a year ago 2.
From Channel GOPTalarico's plan to cut gas and grocery pricesJames Talarico · 1.5K plays · captioned, with the source named
Costs for businesses further up the supply chain are rising faster still. CNBC reported that the prices of intermediate goods, which are the materials used to make other products, are up 14.6% over the year 2.
What the Fed may do
The Federal Reserve wants inflation to run at 2% a year. Friday's report suggests prices are rising well above that 1. On Tuesday, the government reported that the consumer price index, the better-known measure of what households pay, sped up in October 1.
Many Fed officials said after that report that they will almost certainly need to raise their key short-term interest rate further, perhaps more than once 1. The Fed's next meeting is Dec. 8 and 9. CNBC reported that markets fully expect at least a quarter-point increase 2.
Inflation is rising; it's proved far more persistent than we predicted at the beginning from the supply shocks.
When the Fed raises its rate, other borrowing costs rise too. Mortgages, auto loans and credit cards all get more expensive 1. For retirees who carry card balances or want to buy a home, that is a direct cost.
Why it matters
The Associated Press tied the numbers to last week's election. It described the stubbornly higher prices as something that has "soured Americans on the economy" and fueled big Democratic gains in the midterms 1.
CNBC reported that officials worry price pressures from the Iran war, fuel and tariffs are spreading through the economy 2. Whether they are temporary or lasting is the question the Fed now faces. That matters most to people on fixed incomes, whose checks do not rise as fast as the prices they pay.
What happens next: the Fed meets Dec. 8 and 9, and the government will release its next inflation reports in the weeks ahead 2. Democrats take control of Congress in January, and prices are likely to be one of the first things they are asked to address.
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Sources
- ABC News (AP), “Wholesale inflation declined last month yet remains stubbornly elevated” (2026-11-13). abcnews.com/US/wireStory/wholesale-inflation-declined-month-
- CNBC, “Wholesale prices rose 0.3% in October, putting annual rate at 6.5%, the highest in nearly four years” (2026-11-13). cnbc.com/2026/11/13/ppi-inflation-report-october-2026.html
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Producer Price Index News Release - 2026 M10 Results” (2026-11-13). bls.gov/news.release/archives/ppi_11132026.htm
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
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