Posted on 10/19/2011 3:13:18 PM PDT by Signalman
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Inflation took a bigger bite out of consumers' wallets over the last 12 months, with September marking the biggest rise in three years.
But at the same time, monthly price increases are starting to slow.
The Consumer Price Index, the government's key measure of inflation at the retail level, jumped 3.9% in September from the year before. Higher food and energy prices again were the biggest culprits, with food 4.7% more expensive than a year earlier, and energy prices jumping 19.3%.
Even core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, posted a 2% gain -- the higher end of the range that is generally believed to be acceptable by the Federal Reserve.
But there were also signs that the pace of increase is abating. The one-month change in prices was a rise of 0.3%, down from a 0.4% increase in August. And monthly core CPI increased by 0.1%, down from the 0.2% increase from the previous month and the smallest rise since March.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a 0.3% rise for overall CPI in September, and a 0.2% rise for core CPI.
Higher prices this year will mean a 3.6% increase in Social Security benefits in 2012, the first increase for recipients since 2009. Little to no inflation following the financial crisis meant that seniors received no cost-of-living increases in 2010 and 2011.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
I check this site every so often to see what’s going on with inflation.
InflationData.com
Current Annual Inflation Rate Year2011
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 1.63% 2.11% 2.68% 3.16% 3.57% 3.56% 3.63% 3.77% 3.87%
Note: Red indicates Deflation, NA indicates data not yet released.
Get more Historical Data from InflationData.com
No matter what they say about inflation and prices increasing, I don’t buy it
Is your thinking all price increases are related to the dollar devaluation because of the FED printing money?
The list, ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
My litmus test is a pint can of that terrific Fosters Premium Ale: Two months ago $1.50, last month: $1.59, yesterday $1.69.
I started saving more of my own seeds this year, after seeing the price of some varieties jump 70% since last year.
I have a great big pile of string bean seeds drying right now :)
No, I am thinking that the banks are struggling to avoid a deflationary spiral and that the inflation, bogey man, story is a canard to misdirect the public.
The money supply has increased greatly thru direct Fed purchases of Treasuries, it's true, but because the velocity of money, (think of it as the rate of transactions) has been
so low the price level is set to fall sharply, ie deflation.
In this scenario, prices fall and therefore asset values fall and banks, whose collateral for their loans is dependant on the dollar value of the security get killed.
What needs to happen and what is going to happen is the value of everything needs to naturally go down and non stimulated supply and demand set the prices at that reduced level.
So far Goldman Sachs/Warren Buffet and others have acted to artificially support the price level, postponing the losses of the biggest banks and governments through their influence but the rate of transactions is a testament to the rejection of that price level by the market.
I don't know when but we are due for a cataclysmic correction ala Texas in the ‘80s
So, I wonder what excuse Bozo will use this year in order to not pay SS recipients their COLAs. Two years in a row he has said there was no inflation(lying through his frickin’ teeth)because they didn’t count food(the #1 necessity of life)and fuel(perhaps #3 on the necessity list, maybe #2).
To clarify (in typing), there is not an economics background in this opinion. Full agreement the market place should reflect supply and demand, and realization this is not what is taking place. Full agreement deflation would be in the cards should the market place set prices. This would also be reflected in world markets.
(imho) The FED purchases have delayed the market place (main street) from reflecting actual value, therefore full agreement here also. Do you have an opinion as to why the FED is instead following the plan being followed and appears the FED has determined, through policy, to instead pursue inflation as a solution, or is your reasoning based on the FED wanting to not allow deflation? Thinking your reasoning is the FED has determined to control the market place and not allow the correction for as long as the FED can avoid the correction (aka deflation). And in your opinion, is the FED pursuing this policy based on design or incompetence? Please correct me, if I have misunderstood.
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