Over twelve months, Oct. 14 -- Gasoline did more than half the work. U.S. consumer prices rose 0.6 percent in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday, and the agency attributed over half of that monthly increase to a 9.1 percent jump in gasoline alone.

core prices rose 0.3 percent on the month and 2.6 percent on the year.

That gap is the story. Energy rose 5.2 percent in September and 20.4 percent over twelve months, with gasoline up 34.2 percent. Food was flat on the month. Prescription drugs fell 1.2 percent, beef 1.0 percent and dairy 0.9 percent. This is an oil-shock inflation rather than a broad one, and its source is a war that began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, and a Strait o...