Overview
- Japan’s nationwide CPI excluding fresh food rose 3.0% year on year in October, the second straight acceleration and the first 3% reading since July, with the index at 112.1 (2020=100).
- Food prices excluding fresh items climbed 7.2% from a year earlier, with sharp increases reported for rice (+40.2%), chocolate (+36.9%) and coffee beans (+53.4%).
- Energy costs rose 2.1% as government utility relief was scaled back, lifting electricity bills by 3.5% and keeping gas prices to a 1.3% increase.
- The U.S. Labor Department scrapped the October CPI release after a 43‑day partial government shutdown prevented data collection, an unprecedented step in records back to 1994.
- November U.S. CPI is rescheduled for December 18—after the Fed’s December 9–10 meeting—meaning policymakers may decide without October inflation and with other key reports also delayed.