Inflation remained above the Federal Reserve’s target in November. Still, the latest data offered a measure of relief: prices rose about 2.7 percent, cooler than economists had expected and down from roughly three percent in September.
Forecasters had anticipated inflation to come in closer to 3.1 percent, and both CNBC and CNN are admitting that inflation measures are exceeding expectations.
🚨 BREAKING: Inflation just came in LOWER THAN EXPECTED in a stunning blow to the experts, at 2.7% annually, lowest in 4 YEARS
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 18, 2025
"Oh, better than expected. 2.7%, a little LIGHT here...core is 2.6%. 4 tenths off. A VERY GOOD NUMBER here!"
"All items ex food and energy rose .2%… pic.twitter.com/XTt8BsQsJD
🚨 HOLY SMOKES! Democrats are furious CNN was just FORCED to say inflation is "below expectations"
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 18, 2025
"That is MUCH better than the forecast. This is a step in the right direction!"
President Trump and Scott Bessent were right again.
2026 will be the year of affordability. pic.twitter.com/tJ1zCGZSmn
"I was surprised. It was a better number than anyone was expecting," says Harvard Professor of Economics Ken Rogoff on November inflation coming in WAY BELOW expectations.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) December 18, 2025
"It was positive news — there's no other way to spin it." pic.twitter.com/ZtAIBek5z3
Core prices, which strip out food and energy, also cooled since last year, remaining at 2.6 percent.
Meats, poultry, and fish prices in November were up 6.8 percent from last year, while egg prices, something Democrats have been complaining about, are down about 13.2 percent. Fruits and vegetables are up an almost negligible 0.1 percent.
Energy prices are also up, by around 4.2 percent over the last year and 1.1 percent over the previous couple of months. Gas prices, according to the report, are up almost one percent from a year ago, and fuel oil costs rose 11.3 percent. Electricity prices are also up from a year ago, up 6.9 percent, while utility gas service prices went up by 9.1 percent.
The Labor Department's report was delayed by the Schumer Shutdown, which skewed the September report and prevented an October report from being released because of insufficient data.
Furthermore, The Wall Street Journal made a cautionary note that the latest figures may still be skewed downward, as “economists cautioned that a technical fix the Bureau of Labor Statistics used to deal with collection issues caused by the [Schumer] shutdown may have biased the November figure downward, causing inflation to be understated.”