U.S. inflation remains high, at 8.2%, the government revealed Thursday, upon announcing September’s consumer price index (CPI).
This came in higher than the 8.1% CPI economists had predicted. While the headline inflation figure was lower than the 8.3% CPI of August, inflation is still alarmingly high.
This indicates the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases are not slowing inflation as quickly as the Biden administration and Fed officials would like — and the Fed is going to continue to brake hard on the economy with more rate hikes.
Core inflation, which excludes the more volatile food and energy items, came in at 6.6% in September — settling yet another new 40-year record for inflation.
Inflation is stubbornly high, and painful, for many Americans, a breakdown of the Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows.
On a yearly basis, inflated prices are costing the average U.S. household an extra $5,200. The bottom quartile of households is paying $2,200 a year more due to inflation at a rate not seen in 40 years. For the top quartile, inflation is costing $10,000 more a year.
By category, the price of many essential items has soared by double-digits over the past year. Increases in shelter, food and medical care were the largest of many contributors to the monthly seasonally adjusted increase in the CPI—partly offset by the 4.9% decline in gas, BLS said.
Here’s a sampling of the startling increase in the cost of 20 essential goods and services over the past year:
Yearly Increases in the Price of Essential Items in the US
58.1% Fuel oil
42.9% Airline fares
33.1% Utility gas
30.5% Eggs
18.2% Gasoline
17.2% Chicken
15.7% Coffee
15.2% Milk
15.5% Electricity
14.7% Bread
14.6% Transportation
11.2% Food|
10.1% Furniture
9.2% Vegetables
8.2% All items
8.2% Fruit
8.1% Ham
7.6% Women’s apparel
7.2% Used cars
6.7% Rent
6.5% Medical care
3.7% Men’s apparel
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
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