Highest Core Inflation in 40 Years

This morning’s CPI report showed that consumer prices rose 0.77% last month. That’s the highest since 2009. In the last 12 months, consumer prices are up 4.15%.

The core inflation rate was up 0.92%. That’s the highest rate since September 1981. In the last year, core inflation is up 2.96%.

Energy prices overall jumped 25% from a year earlier, including a 49.6% increase for gasoline and 37.3% for fuel oil. That came even though most energy categories saw a decline in April.

Prices at the pump, which fell 1.4% in April, have resumed their climb in May, with the national average eclipsing $3 a gallon for the first time since November 2014, according to AAA. Further rises are likely from Friday’s cyberattack that shut down Colonial Pipeline’s main transmission line from Houston to New Jersey.

Used car and truck prices, which are seen as a key inflation indicator, surged 21%, including a 10% increase in April alone. Shelter, another key CPI component, was up 2.1% year over year and 0.4% for the month.

Here’s a chart of headline CPI:

Here’s core inflation:

Posted by on May 12th, 2021 at 12:19 pm


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