US inflation hits highest level for 40 years

US inflation hits highest level for 40 years
Published 26 minutes ago

Prices for American consumers are rising at their fastest annual rate since June 1982.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.8% in the year to November according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Petrol prices jumped 6.1%, while the cost of second-hand cars, rent and food also rose.

However the monthly pace of price rises at 0.8% in November was slightly lower than October's 0.9%.

Rising inflation is putting pressure on President Biden's political agenda as he tries to pass his $1.9tn (£1.4tn) social spending bill.

On Thursday, the president made the unusual move of attempting to diffuse the impact of the latest figures ahead of their release, saying the data would not reflect recent declines in the price of energy and used cars.

"The information being released tomorrow on energy in November does not reflect today's reality, and it does not reflect the expected price decreases in the weeks and months ahead, such as in the auto market," the president said.

US jobs growth falls far short of expectations, while, Biden says US economy 'in strong shape'

Shoppers, especially those on low incomes are feeling the pinch of higher prices.

Bibi who works as a cleaner in Harlem, New York, says sometimes she buys one meal, and shares it with her 27 year old son.

"We don't have any choice," she says, "I can't afford to cook.

"I take a little bit then I give him more because a mother is always going to do that for her child."

Price rises are eating into her shopping bills: "Gas went up when gas goes up everything goes up," she says.

Maria says she won't treat herself to a bagel for a long time due to the higher prices

Patricia, who has just shopped in the local supermarket says her shopping is costing about $30 a week more than it was before, so she's replacing chicken and pork chops with more vegetables, although prices for fresh produce are also higher she says.

"It affects me a lot right now - I'm not working," she says.

Maria has just retired and says she's noticed that what she buys is not only pricier but often smaller too, especially the bagels.

"I'm not going to buy them again for a long time. They used to be big bagels, now they're smaller and more money," she says.

Inflation has become a potentially damaging political issue for President Biden. It affects ordinary voters directly. And some economists blame the president's spending programmes, designed to offer support amid the Covid pandemic, for exacerbating price increases.

"One of the major reasons we have inflation is because the government spent so much money," said Christopher Campbell, chief strategist at Kroll a risk consultancy, and a former Treasury official under President Trump.

He argues further spending could make inflation worse.

"At the end of the day we hopefully are on the tail end of the pandemic, and the government is still putting its foot on the gas, on the levels of spending."

However Claudia Sahm, senior fellow at the Jain Family Institute and former Federal Reserve economist says government spending is not the cause. The reason inflation has persisted is because the pandemic has not been brought under control, affecting the supply of cars, fuel and food.

"The longer the Covid-related disruptions last, the more that starts to spread into the prices of goods," she said.

She says with fuel prices falling in recent days, inflation should start to ease.

"There are signs that we may be turning the corner soon, but Omicron is a new wild card."

Caleb Thibodeau, at Validus Risk Management said the latest figures would increase both political pressure on President Biden and pressure on the Federal Reserve to act on inflation.

However he said with fuel, shelter and used vehicles making up over half of the 6.8% inflation figure, inflation could start to come down.

"These are factors that could ease quickly, as we have seen recently in oil markets, but remain persistent for the time being," he said.

Excluding the volatile food and energy components of inflation, the CPI index is 4.9% higher year-on-year, up from 4.6% in October.

Rate expectations

Inflation, triggered by a combination of higher demand from consumers and supply chain problems, was initially expected to fade as pandemic-related disruptions were smoothed out.

But recently both Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have said they would no longer refer to inflation as "transitory".

Speculation is mounting that the Federal Reserve will reduce the bond-buying support it provides every month more quickly than planned, paving the way for a possible rise in interest rates next year.

"The Fed is going to have to move," said Beth Ann Bovino US Chief Economist, S&P Global ratings

"We expect them to now to speed up tapering and reach zero [monthly support] by March with at least one [interest] rate hike in 2022."

I hope you're a prepper, Temple - things will get a lot worse in 2022.

Right Temple .. The Biden admin has nothing to do with inflation and/or all the other fuckups.

((pissed me off paying over $10 for a container of Maxwell House))

Wholesale prices surge 11% in April, highest level on record!!!

Stock market news live updates: Stocks sink after inflation soars by most since 1981

Emily McCormick·Reporter
Fri, June 10, 2022, 7:34 AM

U.S. stocks sank Friday as investors digested an update on inflation, which showed price increases unexpectedly accelerated and jumped by the most since 1981.

The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq dropped sharply following the print after trading little changed during the pre-market session. Treasury yields spiked especially on the short end of the curve, and the 2-year yield jumped to top 2.9%. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to nearly 3.1%. U.S. crude oil prices pulled back after rising above $122 per barrel.

For market participants, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was a key print, offering a fresh look at the extent to which price increases have persisted across the U.S. economy. The index unexpectedly accelerated to post an 8.6% annual increase in May, following April's 8.3% rise. That marked the biggest jump since late 1981, and took out the prior 41-year high set in the March CPI, which rose 8.5%.

On a month-over-month basis, CPI also jumped by 1.0%, or more than the 0.7% rise expected, and April's 0.3% increase. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 6.0% on an annual basis after April's 6.2% increase.

Inflation has remained a dominant issue for investors, policymakers and the American public this year. Higher prices have threatened to weigh on consumer spending — the key driver of U.S. economic activity — as goods and services become increasingly unaffordable. And inflation has already shown signs of triggering a rotation from spending on some discretionary goods to other purchase areas.

And for investors, inflation has also become a key determinant in the path forward for the Federal Reserve's monetary policies. As the Fed aims to help bring down fast-rising prices, the central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by another half-point at next week's policy-setting meeting, further increasing the cost of borrowing and doing business for companies.

Amid these concerns over inflation's impact on the economy and Fed's next moves, stocks have continued to trade choppily. Each of the three major averages was on track to post a back-to-back week of losses, based on Thursday's closing prices. The S&P 500 headed for a weekly decline of about 2%.

"At the end of the day, markets are just faced with a whole lot of uncertainty right now. And it's not just that inflation story," Jack Manley, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, told Yahoo Finance Live on Thursday. "We have still some uncertainty, some lack of clarity around what the Fed is going to do. The war in Europe continues to rage. And we know there are new developments happening on that front every few days."

"There's a lot to digest right now. And without any sort of real clarity on these things, it's hard for markets to meaningfully move higher or lower," he added. "It's all markets really want at the end of the day, is news. And no news is bad news."

$5.59 for regular in Phoenix.

FUCK JOE BIDEN

oliver clotheshoffe wrote:

$5.59 for regular in Phoenix.

FUCK JOE BIDEN

This is worldwide, and- The president has
no control over managing gas prices--
But-- you can shop at Dollar Stores and go to a
food shelf for relief until it all gets strengthened out.
You will survive: take a deep breath.

Temple wrote:

///

But-- you can shop at Dollar Stores and go to a
food shelf for relief until it all gets strengthened out.
You will survive: take a deep breath.

Dollar Stores don't sell gas, you idiot.

ps: Dollar Stores items are now $1.25 - that's a 25% inflation rate just this year.