US wholesale inflation climbed to its highest annual rate in nearly four years in September 2026, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
The producer price index rose 6.3% from a year earlier, driven by higher costs for fuel, electricity, shipping, and air travel.
The acceleration intensifies economic pressure on American households and poses a political challenge for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.
Monthly Increase Largest Since March 2022
Wholesale prices rose 1.3% from August to September, the biggest monthly gain since March 2022, after a 0.5% advance in August.
The annual increase accelerated from 5.6% in August, marking the largest year-over-year gain since December 2022.
Energy prices accounted for much of the monthly rise, with wholesale gasoline prices surging more than 20% between August and September.
Prices also increased for electricity, vegetables, shipping, and air fares, showing inflationary pressures extended beyond fuel.
Core wholesale prices, which exclude volatile food and energy categories, climbed 0.7% in September after rising 0.2% in August.
On an annual basis, core prices increased 5%, compared with 4.6% the previous month.
The wholesale figures followed consumer price index data released Wednesday, which also showed inflation accelerating in September as gasoline prices rose.
Inflation has remained above the Federal Reserve's 2% target for five and a half years, according to the report.
Paychecks and Approval Ratings Under Strain
Higher prices have reduced Americans' purchasing power.
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that inflation-adjusted average weekly paychecks fell in September compared with the same month a year earlier, the first annual decline since May.
The continuing cost-of-living pressure has also weighed on President Donald Trump's public standing, according to a poll released this month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Only 17% of US adults approved of Trump's handling of the cost of living, while 26% approved of his overall economic management, the lowest level recorded in the poll cited by the source.
The latest inflation figures add pressure on the Federal Reserve as officials prepare for their next policy meeting in two weeks.
Policymakers are expected to leave the benchmark short-term interest rate unchanged at that meeting, while previous projections indicated another increase later this year.
Economists mostly expect the next rate increase to occur in December.
The Federal Reserve raises borrowing costs to discourage borrowing and spending, a strategy intended to slow economic demand and bring inflation down.
