Posted on 04/22/2010 2:49:49 PM PDT by blam
Hidden In The PPI Data Was The Largest Food Price Spike In 26 Years
Vincent Fernando, CFA
Apr. 22, 2010, 12:04 PM
Food prices are volatile, but this move can't be ignored given its historical significance:
Econompic:
Excluding often-volatile food and energy prices, the core PPI increased 0.1% in March and is up 0.9% compared with a year earlier. The big story in the March PPI was wholesale food prices, which rose 2.4%, matching the biggest gain in 26 years. Prices of fresh and dried vegetables soared 49.3%, the most in 16 years.
The PPI breakdown courtesy of Econompic below.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
What is the cause of this? Could it have something to do with our ingenious idea to use ethanol as auto fuel?
Nothing to see here. Move along, citizen.
First Signs of inflation
My wife becomes more exasperated every time she goes to buy groceries. She has new tales to tell of what has gone up by how much. Thankfully, I have the land to grow a garden. Looks like we’ll be counting more on it in the coming years.
And there are still food items that ran up 50% or more during the crude oil run up in 2007 and 2008 that have never come down in price. All the vegetable oils and mayonnaise went up about 50% or more and are still at that level.
Gas prices are rising, and much of our food is imported. Since food has a much shorter shelf life (literally), it has to be transported as soon as harvested, caught or killed. This is simply an early indicator of gas prices pushing up transportation costs, which will start to affect all shipped products soon.
Actually the signs are all around us. Gasoline is back up near $3.00 per gallon. Many Chinese apparel producers are quoting up to 30% increases to US customers due to raw material cost inflation. In the US businesses are facing price increases in almost every category, including health care. Look in the grocery store — containers are being reduced in size, you now get 22 oz instead of 24, one way to hide a price increase. Restaurant portions are smaller. Bank fees are up.
The government inflation statistics way understate the inflation rate on the basics consumers must purchase to stay alive. Not unlike the under reporting of the unemployment rate. After all, what is one more lie as long as the masses believe.
No kidding. Every time I go to the market to buy food, I see price rises. Then Obama says he’s not raising social security benefits because there is no inflation this year.
Oh, sure.
They do the same in Australia. They tell us that inflation is low. I don't know how they say it with a straight face.
How much of the inflation index consists of housing which is in the tank? I think if that number was removed from the calculation, inflation would be significant.
The food prices I am following have gone up 16%-18% in the last year
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