Consumer prices were little changed in October. The cost of living is not rising very much duering the pandemic.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The numbers: The cost of living — aka inflation — leveled out in October after a summer surge, reflecting the ongoing stress on the economy caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The consumer price index was unchanged last month, the government said Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.1% increase.
The cost of living had risen sharply over a fourth-month span from June to September, but it was mostly just catching up after a sharp decline in prices early in the coronavirus pandemic.
The yearly rate of inflation slowed to 1.2% in October from 1.4% in the prior month.
Before the pandemic, consumer inflation was running at a much higher 2.3% clip.
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Another closely followed measure of prices known as the core index was also unchanged in October. The core rate strips out oft-volatile energy and food prices.
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Over the past year the core rate of consumer inflation has risen 1.6%, a tick down from the previous month.
Inflation has softened considerably during the pandemic and poses no threat to the economy for the time being.
Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.59% and S&P 500 SPX, -0.39% fell in Thursday trades on growing worries about the record increase in coronavirus cases.
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