Food and home costs remain red hot.
According to a report from The New York Post, inflation rose 6% in February compared to the same month one year ago; core inflation, a measure that excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 5.5% year-over-year.
From The New York Post:
The report was in line with expectations. Ahead of the February CPI report’s release, economists expected headline inflation to rise by 6% and core inflation to increase by 5.5% year-over-year. Prices were expected to rise by 0.4% from January to February.
Food prices remained a source of pressure on US households. The February CPI’s food index swelled 9.5% year-over-year. The cost of “food at home” – the CPI’s term for grocery prices – surged even more at 10.2%.
Egg prices swelled by a whopping 55.4% compared to the same month last year – though they declined by 6.7% compared to January in a sign of improvement for the pantry staple.
Breakfast cereal and bakery products were a headache for American shoppers and roe by 14.6% year-over-year. Dairy goods surged by 12.3% over the same period.
The shelter index, which tracks housing costs, spiked by 8.1% year-over-year and was the primary driver of the annual increase in overall prices, according to the BLS. Price spkes for food, recreation and household furnishings also contributed.
The energy index, which includes the cost of electricity and gasoline, rose 5.2% year-over-year but posted a 0.6% decline compared to January.
Jacki Kotkiewicz, director of policy research for RNC research, shared a snapshot on Twitter:
“On heels of bank failures, new data shows inflation remains uncomfortably high.”
On heels of bank failures, new data shows inflation remains uncomfortably high
CPI: +6% y/y
Electricity: +12.9%
Natural Gas: +14.3%
Groceries: +10.2%
Chicken +8.8%
Milk: +8.1%
Eggs: +55.4%
Bread: +15.8%
Baby Food: +9.8%
Airline Fares: +26.5%
Real Average Hourly Wages: -1.3%— Jacki Kotkiewicz (@jackikotkiewicz) March 14, 2023
