Inflation preview: New data to show how much prices rose to start 2026

Emma Ockerman

Fri, February 13, 2026 at 4:12 AM GMT+9 1 min read

Market-watchers will get a fresh look at the direction of inflation when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases January’s Consumer Price Index on Friday.

The report, delayed due to the brief government shutdown, will provide the first official glimpse of where prices were trending at the start of 2026 following a year of inflation hovering stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg are expecting a 0.3% monthly increase in consumer prices and an annual bump of 2.5%.

That yearly rise would be a slight improvement from December’s reading, which showed that “core” consumer prices — which exclude volatile categories like energy and food — rose by 2.6%, the slowest annual pace since March 2021. Overall, on a headline basis, prices rose 2.7% from the previous year in December and 0.3% from November’s levels.

Regardless, there are some categories that may continue to vex consumers in 2026. Certain food prices, for example, have been especially elevated in the past year, including coffee and beef, helping to push that category 3.1% higher on an annual basis as of December.

Also in focus: the continued impacts of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which were largely borne by companies and consumers last year.

Bank of America analysts wrote in a note last week that they expected core goods prices to accelerate from December’s levels, reflecting “a combination of increased tariff pass‑through and the typical tendency for January inflation to run hotter than the rest of the year.”

Coffee is for sale at a grocery store Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley) · ASSOCIATED PRESS

Emma Ockerman_ is a reporter covering the economy and labor for Yahoo Finance. You can reach her at emma.ockerman@yahooinc.com._

Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter

Click here for the latest personal finance news to help you with investing, paying off debt, buying a home, retirement, and more

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Terms and Privacy Policy

Privacy Dashboard

More Info