Posted on 02/10/2022 6:02:35 AM PST by Red Badger
SPONSORED: MISUNDERSTOOD: THE HUAWEI STORY TheHill.com Annual inflation reaches 7.5 percent, highest rate since February 1982 BY SYLVAN LANE - 02/10/22 08:37 AM EST 161 Share to Facebook Share to Twitter
Just In... House Oversight Committee launches probe into boxes of Trump presidential records HOUSE — 2M 41S AGO Ohio, California senators make Super Bowl wager IN THE KNOW — 16M 24S AGO UK's Johnson: Next few days 'most dangerous' in Russia, Ukraine standoff INTERNATIONAL — 17M 43S AGO Annual inflation reaches 7.5 percent, highest rate since February 1982 FINANCE — 21M 50S AGO VIEW ALL Consumer prices rose 7.5 percent annually by the end of January, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department, the fastest rate since February 1982.
The Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI), which tracks inflation, rose on an annual basis for the sixth consecutive month and above the 7.2-percent increase projected by a consensus of economists.
Consumer prices also rose 0.6 percent in January, the same rate as in December, after falling for three consecutive months.
Without food and energy prices, the CPI rose 6 percent annually, the fastest rate since August 1982.
The U.S. has faced high inflation since mid-2021 as a surprisingly strong rebound from the coronavirus recession also kindled price increases. While the U.S. economy added more than 6 million jobs last year, grew 5.7 percent and saw consumer spending return to pre-pandemic levels, the rush of demand collided with severe supply and labor shortages, shipping bottlenecks and other pandemic-related constraints.
Price hikes for food, electricity, and shelter contributed the most to January's inflation jump, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday. Food prices rose 0.9 percent in January, nearly twice December's gain of 0.5 percent, and energy prices also rose 0.9 percent as higher electricity rates offset declines in gasoline and natural gas prices.
Many economists, including top White House and Federal Reserve officials, expected inflation to cool off over the summer as the pandemic faded and more Americans returned to work. But the persistence of high inflation has posed significant political and policy challenges for both the administration and the central bank.
President Biden and Democratic lawmakers have struggled to sell the strength of the recovery to voters, who are increasingly dissatisfied with their handling of the economy, according to recent polls. The rising costs of food, fuel, and other consumer staples has wiped out rapid wage gains for many workers — along with the political benefit.
Food prices are 7 percent higher, gas prices are 40 percent higher, and energy prices in general are 27 percent higher than in January 2021, according to the Labor Department.
The Fed has also laid the groundwork to raise interest rates several times this year as inflation rises well above their annual average target of 2 percent. The bank all but formally confirmed it would raise interest rates in March from the current baseline, which was set near zero as the pandemic wracked the global economy in 2020.
Most Republican lawmakers and an array of economists had urged the Fed to begin hiking interest rates last year, though Fed officials resisted over concerns it would limit the return of workers to the labor force. The Fed, however, pivoted sharply in December as inflation continued to spike and pose potential threats to future job gains.
The January inflation figures will keep the Fed firmly on its path to hike interest rates, though higher borrowing costs may have little impact on the shipping bottlenecks, COVID-19 containment measures in other countries, and labor shortages driving prices higher.
Updated at 8:54 a.m.
Our electric utility was recently sold, formerly owned by The Southern Company, out of Atlanta, under the name of ‘Gulf Power’ and bought by ‘Florida Power & Light’.
Our electric bill has nearly doubled. Pensacola, 40 miles west of here is studying starting their own utility in response to citizens complaints.....................
Hello Jimmy Carter...
Are gas lines next?
Like Toilet Paper and Hand Sanitizer.................
Yes and worse.............
This is why I reject the notion that “now that the China Virus is under control, Biteme/DemoKKKrats’ numbers will improve.” Nope. Inflation ain’t going away. Gonna get worse.
Meanwhile, especially because Biteme & Blue State Govs cling to the China Virus like leprosy, he won’t get any credit for “ending” it and it is baked into voters’ views he is an incompetent Rutabaga.
Please don’t insult the Rutabagas......................
Prices up everywhere on the stuff I buy.
Gas, utilities, grocery, auto parts...
Needs to go higher
Stolen elections have consequences
That being said at least there are no mean tweets this am
By the by nary a word about medicare for all
That comes out every September before elections hmmm
Biden: “The economy is booming! Unemployment is LOWEST in years! We fixed the Supply Chain! The Covid-19 virus is DEAD!”
The pure definition of GASLIGHTING!...............
Needs to go higher?
This is only the beginning!
The rollercoaster is still climbing that first hump!..............
FED is already tightening, using their shadow rate, which is now positive. The battle is on. It will be interesting for us investors as we try to thread the needle just as the FED is doing. Short-term Treasury Bonds finally have real return above liquid bank accounts, that gives some relief and will force bank to raise yields at some point.
Energy still roaring, OPEC+ can’t make their quotas. Biden is an idiot, but idiots always leave openings, like Obama did.
Keep rocking, the next 18 months will be very interesting.
But when inflation in 1982 was killing me, my rate if return on my money market mutual fund was 14%. Now it’s less than one percent. So now we get spitroasted from both ends.
I know. Coming up with any analogy to this Demented Pervert’s mental capacity will insult almost any inanimate object.
My wife does the shopping, but I just noticed one product where the old package was $3.99 and the new package was $4.49.
The old package was a month old....
Nothing to see here...in Bidinflation land.
“But when inflation in 1982 was killing me, my rate if return on my money market mutual fund was 14%. Now it’s less than one percent. So now we get spitroasted from both ends.”
I remember those days well. Looking forward to the next 18 months, will be interesting. Thank goodness short-term T-bonds now beat liquid banks for real return, I’ve started a ladder. T-bonds will pressure banks into raising their yields soon.
Inflation peaks this year, whoo-hoo, much better than Carter days and we did fine back then.
Only 15%? I was guessing it’s more like 25%. Gas prices in Pensacola have gone up about 20 cents in less than a week.
I live in Pensacola, so I’ll keep an eye out for that.
FJB, FDNC, FHUH....F all of em.
The banks have so much printed money that they don’t want it. Liquidity rules can be met without customer deposits. This is very dangerous. The customer has no relevance to the bank. They only want your debt, not your deposits.
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