CPI inflation data quality has rarely been worse: In October, a record 40% of core CPI items were estimated, with 22 percentage points coming from rents and 18 points from other commodities and services. Under normal conditions, the BLS measures CPI inflation using ~90,000 monthly price observations spanning across 200 product and service categories. When price data is unavailable, the BLS fills the gaps with estimated values, which typically account for ~10% of all entries. Overall, 34% of all inflation components were estimated using other items or geographies. This marks the 5th consecutive reading above 30% and more than triple the average seen from 2022 to 2024. Confidence in economic data is eroding.(The Kobeissi Letter)