(NEW YORK) -- Consumer prices rose 3% in September compared to a year ago, extending a monthslong uptick that has sent inflation to its highest level since January, government data on Friday showed. The reading came in lower than economists' expectations.

The fresh data marked a slight increase from a 2.9% year-over-year increase recorded a month prior. An acceleration of price increases over recent months has coincided with a flurry of tariffs issued by President Donald Trump.

Leavitt also said on X that the ongoing government shutdown would likely result in no inflation report for October, "which will leave businesses, markets, families, and the Federal Reserve in disarray."

The data arrived more than a week later than originally planned, since the government shutdown has severely hamstrung the release of information about the economy.

The latest acceleration of price increases comes at a wobbly moment for the nation's economy. In recent months, inflation has picked up while hiring has slowed, posing a risk of an economic double-whammy known as "stagflation."

Last month, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point, opting for its first interest rate cut this year in an effort to revive the labor market.

Policymakers are widely expected to make an additional quarter-point cut when they meet next week, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

In recent months, tariffs modestly contributed to the uptick in overall inflation, analysts previously told ABC News, but overall price increases owed largely to a rise in housing and food products with little connection to Trump's levies.

Last week, President Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs on all China-made goods starting Nov. 1 in response to restrictions placed on rare earth minerals. Beijing has publicly stood firm on the policy, leaving the two sides at an impasse with massive implications for the price of consumer goods imported from China.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.