EconomyInflation
Official data, refreshed daily
CPI inflation (YoY)
+3.7%
All items, last 24 months
BLS via FRED · Data as of Sep 2026
Core CPI (YoY)
+2.6%
Excludes food & energy
BLS via FRED · Data as of Sep 2026
Latest month
+0.65%
CPI change in Sep 2026 (seasonally adj.)
BLS via FRED · Data as of Sep 2026
🧭 What causes inflation
🛒
Demand-pull
Spending grows faster than the economy can produce, so prices rise.
⛽
Cost-push
Energy, food or supply shocks raise costs that businesses pass on.
💵
Money supply
More money chasing the same goods can lift prices over time.
🏛️
Deficit spending
Borrowed government spending adds demand, more so when the Fed buys the debt.
🔮
Expectations
If people expect higher prices, wages and prices get set higher in advance.
🥚 Food
Food at home (YoY)
+1.8%
Groceries
BLS via FRED · Data as of Sep 2026
Food away from home (YoY)
+3.5%
Restaurants
BLS via FRED · Data as of Sep 2026
Average U.S. prices
BLS Average Price Data via FRED · change vs. a year earlier · Data as of Sep 2026
🛢️ Oil & energy
Energy is an input to almost everything: higher fuel costs raise shipping, farming and manufacturing costs, which show up in other prices.
WTI crude oil
$101.91
Per barrel, daily
EIA via FRED · Data as of Oct 14, 2026
U.S. regular gasoline
$4.33
Per gallon, weekly average
EIA via FRED · Data as of Oct 12, 2026
Energy CPI (YoY)
+20.4%
Last 24 months
BLS via FRED · Data as of Sep 2026
🏛️ Government spending
Deficits add demand to the economy. When that demand outruns supply, or when debt is financed with newly created money, it can push prices up.
Total federal debt
$40.39T
$32.54T held by the public
Deficit, fiscal year to date
$1.99T
Through Sep 2026
💵 Money printing
When the Fed buys bonds its balance sheet grows and adds money to the banking system. Faster money growth than output has tended to precede higher inflation, though the link is loose and slow. Raising the fed funds rate and shrinking the balance sheet work the other way.
M2 money supply (YoY)
+5.7%
$23.3T total
Fed funds rate
3.75%
Monthly effective rate
Sources BLS, EIA, Federal Reserve (via FRED, St. Louis Fed) and U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data. Year-over-year changes are computed from the published index values.