U.S. Inflation Rises More Than Expected While German Prices Slow After Fuel Discount

The split complicates policy reading because U.S. core CPI stayed firm even as many U.S. year‑on‑year comparisons are unavailable after an October 2025 data gap.

Overview

U.S. consumer prices rose 0.4% month‑to‑month in October, with core CPI excluding food and energy up 0.3%, energy up 0.7% and food up 0.4%, beating some forecasts.
The U.S. Department of Labor said that because it did not collect price data for October 2025 during a budget halt, many standard 12‑month comparisons for October 2026 cannot be calculated.
Germany’s annual inflation slowed to 2.8% in October from 3.3% in September, with monthly CPI down 0.2% and core inflation (excluding energy and unprocessed food) easing from 2.4% to 2.1%.
German officials credit a fuel‑discount policy introduced at the start of October for part of the slowdown, but the harmonized inflation rate remains above the ECB’s 2% target and still factors into policy decisions.
The readings mean households saw mixed relief—drivers benefit from the fuel rebate through year‑end while persistent U.S. core inflation keeps pressure on living costs and will shape what central banks watch next.