["'Terrifying Data' Far Exceeds Expectations: U.S. September PPI Data Surges"] The U.S. September PPI year-over-year recorded 6.3%, the highest since May 2026, surpassing the market expectation of 5.3%. The U.S. September PPI month-over-month came in at 1.3%, significantly higher than the market expectation of 0.5%. U.S. September retail sales month-over-month recorded 0.8%, exceeding market expectations. Even after excluding the highly volatile food and energy components, core PPI still rose 0.7% month-over-month and 5.0% year-over-year, highlighting the strong resilience of underlying price pressures. PPI is traditionally regarded as a leading indicator for consumer-end inflation. Since some subcomponents are directly incorporated into the Federal Reserve's most closely watched Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, key data points such as a 5% month-over-month surge in airline ticket prices will undoubtedly push up the PCE reading scheduled for release on October 29, further obstructing the path to bringing inflation back to the long-term target of 2%.