US October CPI exceeded expectations across the board, hitting the threshold for significant rate hikes mentioned by Waller.

November 10 - U.S. October headline and core inflation both exceeded expectations on a monthly basis, which may keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates next month. According to Labor Statistics Bureau data released on Tuesday, the consumer price index excluding food and energy rose 0.3% from the previous month. The overall price increase was 0.4%. Due to the interruption in data collection during the government shutdown last October, the Labor Statistics Bureau did not release year-over-year changes.

The report shows that price pressures continued to intensify ahead of this month's midterm elections, in which Democrats, who focused their campaigns primarily on the cost of living, retook both chambers of Congress. This year, the Iran war, tariffs, and the data center boom all fueled inflation. This is the last CPI report Fed officials will see before their December 8-9 policy meeting. Investors expect them to raise interest rates at that meeting to counter inflation.

Ahead of the release, Fed Governor Waller said that if core CPI rises 0.3% or more, the Fed may need to raise interest rates by 50 basis points.