REUTERS/Gretchen Ertl
Expectations are for the report to show prices fell 0.1% month-on-month in October and rose 1.6% when compared to the prior year.
On a "core" basis, which excludes the price of food and gas, prices are expected to show a 0.1% monthly rise and a 1.7% increase when compared to last year.
In September, prices rose just 0.1% on both a headline and "core" basis month-on-month, and both measures showed a 1.7% increase over the prior year.
In a note to clients ahead of the report, Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macro said the impact of lower gasoline prices on the CPI is "unambiguous."
Shepherdson says the CPI headline reading will be pushed down by gas prices, which he expects to fall 4.5% in October, enough to pull 0.25% from the reading.
Shepherdson added that is the spread between the "core" and headline CPI reading is less than 0.2%, the energy services component is the first place he'll look for an explanation.
CPI isn't the Fed's preferred measure of inflation - that honor belongs to the PCE index - but Thursday's CPI report will give us an idea of where inflation is, or isn't, popping up in the economy.