The consumer price index was expected to increase 0.6% in September on a monthly basis and 3.6% from a year ago, according to the Dow Jones consensus forecast.

Tariffs added 2.9 percentage points to inflation in 67 categories of goods by February 2026, researchers at the New York Federal Reserve found.

Tariffs, fuel prices and interest rates are squeezing American companies, particularly manufacturers, auto suppliers, retailers and transportation businesses.

Demand for manufactured goods, while “resilient for now,” will “likely wobble as output prices rise further,” Pantheon Macroeconomics Chief U.S. Economist Samuel Tombs said.

CBO estimates the Iran war cost the Pentagon $38.1 billion through Aug. 1 and could cost another $2 billion to $3 billion each additional month.

Prices for diesel, the fuel type used to power trucks and trains, came in at an all-time high of $6.31 per gallon on Wednesday.

The survey's headline index hit a level of 47.8, down 7.5% from the August reading and off 13.2% from a year ago.

Nonfarm payrolls were projected to increase by 83,000 in July while the unemployment rate would hold steady at 4.2%, according to the Dow Jones consensus.