> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theglobalvoice.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # US Inflation Hits 3.7% as Trump’s Cost-of-Living Problem Deepens - URL: https://www.theglobalvoice.com/us-inflation-hits-3-7-as-trumps-cost-of-living-problem-deepens/ - Published: 2026-10-15T05:13:22.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-15T11:05:55.000Z - Description: US inflation accelerated to 3.7% in September as gasoline prices surged and real wages declined. With midterm elections approaching, Donald Trump faces growing pressure over living costs while the Federal Reserve weighs whether another interest rate increase is necessary. - Author: TGV Desk - Tags: United States, US Economy, Inflation, Donald Trump, Federal Reserve, Energy Prices, US Midterm Elections, Cost of Living, Monetary Policy, The Day So Far, has-audio, Live Wire American workers earned slightly more in September. They could afford less with it. Prices rose faster than wages, gasoline became considerably more expensive, and the latest inflation report has handed Donald Trump an economic problem just three weeks before voters decide control of Congress. Annual US inflation climbed to 3.7% in September, up from 3.4% in August, according to [figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi%5F10142026.htm?ref=theglobalvoice.com) on October 14\. Consumer prices increased 0.6% during the month, the sharpest monthly rise since April, with gasoline responsible for more than half the increase. Americans paid 9.1% more for gasoline in September alone. Compared with a year earlier, prices were up 34.2%, while fuel oil had become 74.2% more expensive. The energy index, which includes several household energy costs, rose 20.4% over the year. Grocery shoppers received some relief. Food prices remained unchanged during September, with supermarket prices falling 0.1%. But rents, medical expenses, airfares and several other everyday costs continued climbing, leaving households with little room to recover from higher fuel bills. The squeeze is visible in pay packets. The government's separate [real earnings report](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm?ref=theglobalvoice.com) showed that inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings fell 0.5% in September and 0.7% over the preceding twelve months. Workers are earning more dollars, but their purchasing power has deteriorated. Trump had promised to bring down living costs. Instead, his administration is heading into the November 3 midterm elections with inflation accelerating and energy prices among the most persistent sources of public frustration. The conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran has disrupted energy supplies and pushed fuel prices sharply higher. Instability around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important oil shipping routes, has made the problem harder to contain. The disruption has already [forced oil markets to confront tighter supplies and rising transport costs](https://www.theglobalvoice.com/oil-surges-as-hormuz-disruption-and-houthi-advance-rattle-markets/). Trump has attempted to increase available supplies, including through a controversial agreement allowing Russian diesel back into international markets. But the arrangement has [drawn opposition from Republican senators](https://www.theglobalvoice.com/republicans-break-with-trump-over-russian-diesel-deal/), who argue that easing restrictions on Moscow could help finance its war in Ukraine without substantially lowering American fuel prices. September's inflation figures suggest Washington has yet to find an effective way to shield consumers from the energy shock. --- The trouble is spreading beyond fuel. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, increased to 2.6% annually from 2.4% in August. Shelter costs rose 0.4% during September, while used vehicles, medical care, recreation and airline fares also became more expensive. That leaves the Federal Reserve with another difficult decision. Having already [raised its benchmark interest rate to 3.75–4% in September](https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20260916a.htm), the central bank meets again on October 27 and 28, less than a week before the elections. Another increase could restrain inflation, but would also keep borrowing expensive for households and businesses. Leaving rates unchanged risks allowing price pressures to persist, particularly if energy markets remain unsettled. Trump cannot control every movement in global oil prices, and a single inflation report cannot establish the economic effect of every administration policy. But voters do not encounter inflation as an abstract statistic. They see it at petrol pumps, in monthly bills and in how quickly their wages disappear. September's numbers give them little reason to believe relief is close.