Inflation picks up in September; third quarter GDP beats expectations

Core inflation accelerated to 3.1% in September while gross domestic product for the third quarter grew by 3.4%, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday.

The personal consumption expenditures price index in September rose by 3.6% over 2025. For September alone the index advanced by 0.5%.

The single-month increase in the PCE index was the largest since March, the first full month of the Iran war.

The 3.1% figure for core inflation excludes food and energy.

On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to keep benchmark interest rates in the 3.75% to 4% target range. The committee increased the target range in September, the first time since 2023.

"The period right in front of us is information rich," Kevin Warsh, Federal Reserve chairman, said in a press conference on Wednesday. "There is a lot that's happening in the world. My colleagues and I are keen to take notice of it."

The U.S. economy grew by more than expected in the third quarter this year, Thursday's GDP report showed. The 3.4% rate of growth outpaced the 2.2% rate from the second quarter and economists projections of a 3.1% rate for quarter three.

Investments, consumer spending and government spending were the largest contributors to third-quarter GDP growth.

The third-quarter number is a bounce back after real gross domestic product slowed about 0.4% in the second quarter compared to the first. GDP growth remains slower than the third quarter 2025's rate of 3.9%.