Grocery prices spiked in October, thanks to soaring diesel fuel costs

Some good news when it comes to inflation: after two months of gas prices over $4 per gallon and diesel fuel over $6, those prices are now falling quickly.

Thanks to reduced fall driving and Iran war fears easing after the election, gas prices are down 40 cents a gallon in many areas in November. That is much-needed relief for drivers.

Unfortunately, the impact of those high fuel prices is now showing up in stores.

The government's October Consumer Price Index shows inflation ticking up 0.4% for the month, higher than expectations. That means the inflation rate is still running hot, and over 3% on an annual basis.

Food and housing costs took the biggest jump in this most recent report.

What grocery items are costing more

The CPI food index jumped 0.5% in October, after being flat most of the year.

CNBC broke down the items hit hardest by increasing shopping costs.

Lettuce was up 7.9% for the month. That was directly impacted by high diesel prices, due to the short shelf life of lettuce Cake and donuts were up 3.5% Juices and drinks were up 2.2% Beef, already at record-high prices, was up 0.9% (nearly 1%) for the month Chicken, fish and eggs were up 0.5%

Restaurant food prices were up as well, rising 0.7% in October.

The October numbers do not give an annual inflation rate, due to the government shutdown last October.

However, a report in Yahoo Finance says that, looking at just the monthly numbers, that would be a yearly inflation rate of almost 4%, far above the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2%.

As always, don't waste your money.

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