US wholesale prices jump 6.3% in year to September, driven by fuel costs
The US producer price index rose 6.3% year on year in September, its largest annual rise since late 2022 and above forecasts, with fuel costs the main driver. Outlets differ on the monthly figure and on how much to stress politics and the Federal Reserve.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2The US producer price index (PPI) rose 6.3% in the year to September 2026, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday 15 October. ABC NewsLC “soared 6.3% in September from a year ago, up from 5.6% in August” Read at ABC News ↗ Just the NewsRC “September's producer price index rose 6.3% on an annual basis” Read at Just the News ↗ Mixed · 2AP, carried by ABC News, and Just the News put it as the biggest annual increase since December 2022; AP gave the August figure as 5.6%. ABC NewsLC “the biggest increase since December 2022” Read at ABC News ↗ Just the NewsRC “the largest 12-month increase since climbing 6.1% in December 2022” Read at Just the News ↗ Left · 3On a monthly basis, AP and Just the News report a 1.3% rise from August; AP calls it the largest since March 2022. NBC News instead says prices overall rose 0.6% from August, a figure Just the News gives as economists' forecast, so the outlets' monthly numbers conflict. ABC NewsLC “wholesale prices rose 1.3% from August to September, marking the largest increase since March 2022” Read at ABC News ↗ Just the NewsRC “The index rose 1.3% over August” Read at Just the News ↗ NBC NewsLC “From August, prices overall rose 0.6%” Read at NBC News ↗
Mixed · 2The results beat expectations: Just the News, citing CNBC, says economists polled by Dow Jones expected 0.6% for the month and 5.5% for the year. Just the NewsRC “who expected an increase of 0.6% for the month and 5.5% for the year” Read at Just the News ↗ NBC NewsLC “All of the key numbers in Thursday’s PPI report were far more than had been expected by economists and analysts.” Read at NBC News ↗ Left · 2Energy was the main driver. The BLS said half of the September increase came from rising gas costs, and AP reported wholesale gas prices up more than 20% from August; diesel, jet fuel, electricity, vegetables, shipping and air fares also rose. NBC NewsLC ““Half of the September increase” in producer prices was from the rising cost of gas” Read at NBC News ↗ ABC NewsLC “wholesale gas prices soared more than 20% from August to September” Read at ABC News ↗ Mixed · 2Excluding food and energy, core prices rose 0.7% on the month and 5% on the year, according to AP and NBC; Just the News, which also excludes trade, reports 0.5% and 5%. ABC NewsLC “core prices rose 0.7% from August to September, up sharply from 0.2% in the previous month” Read at ABC News ↗ Just the NewsRC “Excluding food, energy and trade, the PPI rose 0.5% in September and 5% on an annual basis.” Read at Just the News ↗
Mixed · 2Outlets give different causes for the fuel pressure: NBC says oil and gas prices have soared since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, while Just the News cites the Middle East conflict restricting oil supply and the war in Ukraine reducing refined products. NBC NewsLC “Oil and gas prices have soared ever since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February.” Read at NBC News ↗ Just the NewsRC “the Middle East conflict continues to restrict the oil supply and the war in Ukraine continues to reduce refined petroleum products” Read at Just the News ↗ Left · 2The report followed Wednesday's consumer price index, which also accelerated, and the two raise pressure on the Federal Reserve. AP says the Fed is expected to hold rates at its meeting in two weeks, with a hike mostly expected in December; NBC says markets see some chance of a hike at the 27-28 October meeting. ABC NewsLC “will hold a policy meeting in two weeks and are expected to keep its key short-term interest rate unchanged” Read at ABC News ↗ NBC NewsLC “the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates sooner than expected, during its October 27-28 meeting” Read at NBC News ↗ Left · 2NBC and AP also place the data in the context of the midterm elections. AP cites an AP-NORC poll in which 17% of adults approve of President Trump's handling of the cost of living and 26% of his handling of the economy, while NBC says months of administration efforts to lower prices have not made a meaningful dent. ABC NewsLC “just 17% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's handling of the cost of living” Read at ABC News ↗ NBC NewsLC “Months of efforts by the Trump administration to bring down prices have failed to make a meaningful dent in rising costs.” Read at NBC News ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left2 outlets
- Framing
- Leads on the inflation surge and its political and economic fallout: pressure on the Fed, squeezed incomes and Republicans' midterm prospects.
- Emphasis
- Midterm politics, Trump's low approval on prices, the Fed and mortgage rates, and the broad spread of price rises.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither mentions the economists' forecast numbers; NBC's monthly figure differs from the other outlets'.
- Charged language
- “soared”“hit even harder”
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- Short, data-led report on the PPI beating forecasts, with energy supply disruption as the cause.
- Emphasis
- Comparison with Dow Jones forecasts and the BLS definition of the index.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention the midterms, Trump's approval, the Fed or consumer impact.
- Charged language
- “much higher than economists expected”
- For example
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“September's figures came in much higher than economists had forecasted, CNBC reported.” — Just the News
What every side reports
- Producer prices rose 6.3% year on year in September 2026.
- Results were above economists' expectations.
- Higher energy and fuel costs were the main driver.
- Core PPI rose 5% year on year.
Where accounts differ
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Monthly rise in the PPI
- Left
- NBC says prices overall rose 0.6% from August; ABC/AP says 1.3%, the largest since March 2022.
- Right
- Just the News says 1.3%, and gives 0.6% as the economists' forecast.
-
Why fuel prices are high
- Left
- NBC points to the US and Israeli attack on Iran in February.
- Right
- Just the News cites the Middle East conflict and the war in Ukraine.
-
The producer price index rose 6.3% in the year to September 2026.
Supported- Supports 3
- ABC News, NBC News, Just the News
-
The producer price index rose 1.3% from August to September 2026.
Supported- Supports 2
- ABC News, Just the News
- Earlier 1
- NBC News
-
Higher energy and fuel costs were the main driver of the September increase.
Supported- Supports 3
- ABC News, NBC News, Just the News
Republican Party party
Described by AP as facing a growing political problem from rising prices before the midterms; no statement from the party appears in the coverage.
“a growing political problem for Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections” — ABC News
Left3 articles
-
Businesses were hit even harder by inflation last month than consumers
Critical Presents inflation as back on the rise and broad across the economy, tying it to the election and the administration's failed price efforts.
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ABC NewsLC · · via AP
Wholesale inflation jumped last month by most in four years as gas prices soared
Mixed AP wire copy: a data-focused report on the jump, adding political and Fed context and Trump's poll numbers.
-
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right1 article
-
Wholesale prices see a 6.3% annual jump in September, much higher than economists expected
Neutral Brief, numbers-first account stressing the forecast miss and global supply causes.
- 15 Oct 14:35 First NBC NewsLC Businesses were hit even harder by inflation last month than consumers
- 15 Oct 14:39 +5m ABC NewsLC Wholesale inflation jumped last month by most in four years as gas prices soared via AP
- 15 Oct 14:54 +19m Just the NewsRC Wholesale prices see a 6.3% annual jump in September, much higher than economists expected
- 15 Oct 16:42 +2h 7m ABC NewsLC Wholesale prices soar at fastest pace since 2022
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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