Despite these increases, policy makers at the Federal Reserve say they believe that inflation will remain muted in the months ahead. With 15 million people out of work, consumer demand shaky and businesses operating at reduced capacity, there is still an enormous amount of slack in the economy.

“The biggest factor for inflation will be the level of slack,” said James F. O’Sullivan, chief economist at MF Global. “That’s going to keep downward pressure on inflation.” The price data coincided with a report from the Commerce Department that construction of new homes rose by 0.5 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000. The figures showed that the housing market was continuing to make a tentative recovery because of lower prices and a government tax credit for first-time home buyers.

But despite some stability in home sales and prices, potential buyers are still circling the edges of the market, and many builders are still unable to get financing to break ground on new projects.

“Gains from here on will probably be much more difficult to achieve, as poor labor market conditions, tight credit, overly leveraged household balance sheets, and still considerable inventory of new and existing homes all exert downside pressures,” Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist at MFR, wrote in a research note.

The number of housing starts was 28 percent lower than a year ago, and new building permits in September fell by 1.2 percent from August to a seasonally adjusted 580,000. The number of building permits issued in September was down nearly 30 percent from last year.