Key takeaways

• Inflation cooled: CPI rose 2.7% year-over-year in November (down from 3% in September)

• Gas prices jumped: gasoline rose 3% from October to November

• Groceries remain uneven: overall food inflation is 2.6% year-over-year, but coffee and beef are seeing much steeper increases

Inflation is easing overall, but grocery prices still stand out in everyday life. Inflation is up 2.7% over the past year, and 0.2% from September to November.

Inflation moved lower in November — and on paper, that’s a win. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is now up 2.7% over the past year, down from 3% as of September, with inflation moving up 0.2% from September to November.¹

But if your grocery bill still feels overwhelming, the details explain why. A handful of everyday staples (especially coffee and beef) are still seeing double‑digit annual increases, even as some categories (like eggs and electronics) are finally going in the right direction.²

The November CPI report doesn’t include the usual headline “one‑month CPI” change for many categories, since the October CPI was not released due to the government shutdown, so the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a two‑month change for the overall index and limited one‑month changes for select items.

Here’s a snapshot of what changed from November 2024 to November 2025.³

• Overall CPI: up 2.7% 

• Core CPI (excluding food and energy): up 2.6% 

• Food: up 2.6%

• Energy: up 4.2% 

Groceries: Why it still feels expensive at the grocery store

Food inflation is no longer seeing across-the-board price increases, but a few staples are still pricey, and they’re the ones that people tend to buy regularly. 

Here are the year-over-year grocery standouts in the CPI details:⁴

• Coffee is still rising:

  • Coffee: up 18.8% 

  • Roasted coffee: up 18.4%

  • Instant coffee: up 24.2% 

• Beef is another driver of grocery sticker shock:

  • Beef and veal: up 15.8% 

  • Uncooked beef roasts: up 21.2% 

• The “macro” food picture is calming:

  • Food at home (groceries): up 1.9% 

  • Food away from home (restaurants): up 3.7% 

While grocery inflation is no longer widespread, it’s concentrated in a handful of items that make weekly grocery bills feel higher.

Read more: Inflation at 2.9% as shelter inches higher, electricity climbs and coffee perks up

Gas and energy: Prices are rising

Energy costs are volatile, and the spikes were visible in November, particularly at the pump.

Here’s what moved:⁵

• Gasoline jumped in November, up 3% from October to November (seasonally adjusted)

• Energy inflation remains hotter than overall inflation. Energy is up 4.2% year-over-year

• Utility-related costs are still elevated year-over-year:

  • Electricity: up 6.9% year-over-year

  • Utility (piped) gas service: up 9.1% year-over-year

• One “quiet win” inside energy: propane/kerosene/firewood is down 5.9% year-over-year

Shelter: Still rising

Shelter isn’t necessarily the category that spikes the most in a given month — but it’s the category that keeps inflation sticky because it’s big and it tends to move slowly.

Here’s what to know from the CPI:⁶

• Shelter is up 3% year-over-year

• The big shelter components are still rising:

  • Rent of primary residence: up 3% year-over-year

  • Owners’ equivalent rent (OER) (the hypothetical rent a homeowner would pay to live in their own home if they were renting it out): up 3.4% year-over-year

The relief list: Where prices are falling

Not everything is rising — and the declines matter, especially for big-ticket items and a few groceries.

Here are the year-over-year drops:⁷

• Eggs: down 13.2%

• Smartphones: down 9.4%

• Televisions: down 7.3%

• Pork chops: down 6.3%

• Propane/kerosene/firewood: down 5.9%

The November report shows that inflation is moving in the right direction, but the “lived” inflation people feel is still being set by essentials. A 2.7% headline rate (and a modest 0.2% rise from September to November) sounds moderate but is offset by staples like coffee and beef still up double digits, gas rising 3% in a month, and shelter continuing to climb.