Inflation Eased to 7.1% in November

December 13, 2022 from Floor Focus FloorDaily News

Washington, DC, December 13, 2022-The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1% in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.4% in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 7.1% before seasonal adjustment.

The index for shelter was by far the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase, more than offsetting decreases in energy indexes. The food index increased 0.5% over the month with the food at home index also rising 0.5%. The energy index decreased 1.6% over the month as the gasoline index, the natural gas index, and the electricity index all declined.

“U.S. inflation eased significantly to 7.1% in November, its slowest pace since the end of 2021, the Labor Department said Tuesday,” reports the Wall Street Journal.

“The Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate this year at the fastest pace since the early 1980s to combat inflation. It is expected to announce on Wednesday a 0.5-percentage-point increase, bringing rates to a range between 4.25% and 4.5%, the highest level since December 2007.

“The consumer-price index measures what consumers pay for goods and services.

“Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimated that the CPI rose 7.3% in November from a year earlier and that core CPI rose 6.1%.

“Inflation soared in 2021 as the economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic. Prices leapt as surging consumer demand-fueled by very low interest rates and government stimulus-collided with limited supply caused by pandemic-related disruptions. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine further inflamed inflation worldwide, pushing up prices for energy and other commodities. That culminated in June’s U.S. CPI reading, the highest since 1982.”