Is High Inflation Now a “Fact of Life”? Fed Officials Sound the Alarm

What happened

The consumer price index released Wednesday showed prices up 3.7% in September from a year earlier, hotter than the 3.6% economists expected and up from 3.4% in August. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose to 2.6%. Gasoline jumped 9.1% in the month, more than half of the overall monthly increase.

CPI has now run above 2%, a widely accepted inflation target, for around 65 consecutive months. A CNBC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data found it is the longest such run of the 21st century; only two streaks since the late 1940s lasted longer. The average reading since early 2021 is about 4.5%.

Consumers expect more: the New York Fed’s survey showed one-year inflation expectations rising to 3.9% in September, the highest in more than three years. Fed officials worry that entrenched expectations could make inflation self-fulfilling and blunt the Fed’s tools.

The Fed raised rates in September, and fed funds futures traders anticipate further hikes in December and in 2027. Meanwhile, inflation has outpaced wage growth in recent months, and University of Michigan consumer sentiment fell to record lows earlier this year.

Quotes are as reported by CNBC. Photos are archival or illustrative; the grocery photo does not depict Olena Nicks.

The Newstro report

Read the transcript click a paragraph to jump to it in the video

Gas station price sign in Eugene, Oregon, in June 2022

GAS PRICES, EUGENE, ORE., JUNE 2022 (FILE PHOTO — NOT CURRENT PRICES)

The numbers

3.7%Headline CPI, Sept.

2.6%Core CPI, Sept.

+9.1%Gasoline, one month

~65Months above 2%

~4.5%Average since early 2021

3.9%Expected next 12 months

Statements

“They’re starting to accept high inflation as just a fact of life. That’s concerning.”
Beth Hammack, president, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

“Inflation expectations have to be anchored for monetary policy to affect the economy in an effective and predictable manner.”
Gary Richardson, economist and former Fed historian

“Even when the cure hurts, it’s better than letting it metastasize.”
Diane Swonk, chief economist, KPMG

“Frustrated is an understatement. It feels like you’re stuck.”
Olena Nicks, analyst and local lawmaker, Long Island, N.Y.

As reported by CNBC.

Sources and credits

Reporting

CNBC — “How high inflation became a ‘fact of life’ in the U.S.” (Alex Harring, Oct. 14, 2026). September CPI detail cross-checked with Kiplinger and Advisor Perspectives (Bureau of Labor Statistics data).

Photos (Wikimedia Commons)

Gas prices, Eugene, Oregon, June 2022 — Rick Obst (CC BY 2.0)

Graphics and layout: Newstro. The video also uses file photos of the Eccles Building (Federal Reserve, public domain), Beth Hammack (Federal Reserve, public domain), Neel Kashkari (Smnh1730, CC BY-SA 4.0), the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (Warren LeMay, CC0) and a Tampa produce section (MatthewHoobin, CC0). Narration is AI-generated.