NPR.

This is the indicator from Planet Money.

I'm Wayland Wong.

And I'm Adrian Mah.

New inflation numbers are out this morning and core inflation.

That's a measure of consumer prices which does not include food and energy costs.

Core inflation is at a 40 year high.

And when you toss in food and energy prices, overall consumer prices have gone up 8.2% in

September compared to a year ago.

Gas prices fell 5% in September from August.

This is the third straight month we've seen gas prices come down.

But you know, when it comes to energy costs, the news is mixed.

Prices for electricity and natural gas went up.

Yeah, and gas prices could go back up again.

Next last week, the OPEC Plus Coalition announced it was cutting oil production by 2 million

barrels a day.

That's even though the Biden administration pressed Saudi Arabia to increase production.

And meanwhile, the international energy agency says the production cut could push the global

economy into a recession.

This combination of high energy prices and tensions with Middle East oil producers brings

back some very bad memories for the U.S. economy.

They invoke fears of the 1970s and something called an oil shock.

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