Falling gasoline prices provided some relief to consumers in October, but Federal Reserve officials are increasingly concerned that inflation pressures elsewhere in the economy are proving harder to contain.
Prices at the pump declined by more than 4%, according to the Energy Information Administration, providing a respite from a surge that had added more than a dollar a gallon over the past year.
However, the consumer price index for the month, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release Tuesday at 8:30 a.m., is expected to show only a slight let-up.
Meanwhile, Fed officials say they are worried that inflation initially driven higher by President Donald Trump's tariffs and the Iran war is proving more persistent than expected, with price pressures emerging in sectors beyond those directly affected by the shocks.
At a time when the central bank is increasingly confident about the state of the labor market, concerns over the cost of living are what are top of mind for the Fed.