Inflation rises 3.2% in October, less than expected

Inflation eased in October for the first time in months, providing some welcome relief to American consumers who have been crushed by unrelenting price increases. 

The Labor Department said Tuesday that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price of everyday goods including gasoline, groceries and rent, was unchanged in October from the previous month. Prices climbed 3.2% from the same time last year. 

Both of those figures are lower than estimates by Refinitiv economists.

Other parts of the report pointed to cooling price pressures within the economy. Core prices, which exclude the more volatile measurements of food and energy, climbed 0.2%, or 4% annually. Both of those figures are lower than Refinitiv economists expected.

"October is just one fight in a long war against inflation, but we can count it as a victory," said Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.