Thought you've seen inflation? Just wait! Consumer Prices Soar 6.2%

[SlugSlinger]

Prices increased essentially 1% in September. That's 12% annualized, but we haven't seen the worst yet. As the supply chain continues to pile up at the ports and accross the country, we are going to see bigger spikes in the future. If there is something that you want to buy, it might be a good time before you see it go up 10%, 20% or double in the near future.



Consumer prices rose at their fastest rate in decades in October, data from the Department of Labor showed Wednesday.

The Consumer Price Index rose 0.9 percent in October from September, exceeding expectations for a 0.6 percent rise. Compared with the prior October, prices are up 6.2 percent, exceeding expectations for a 5.8 percent rise and the highest annual rate since 1990.

Excluding food and energy, two categories of goods that are central to the cost-of-living to households but are so volatile that economists look beyond them to see underlying inflationary trends, and prices rose 0.6 percent on a monthly basis and 4.6 percent annually. Both exceeded expectations.

Earlier this year, inflationary pressures were largely concentrated in a few areas of the economy, leading Fed officials and others to expect inflation to taper off when temporary supply bottlenecks cleared up and demand surges related to the reopening of parts of the economy subsided.

Instead, the tide of rising prices has accelerated, broadened, and become stickier. The Department of Labor described October inflation as “broad-based, with increases in the indexes for energy, shelter, food, used cars and trucks, and new vehicles among the larger contributors.” Energy prices rose 4.8 percent in the month, with gasoline prices rising 6.1 percent compared with the prior month. The food index rose 0.9 percent in the month and 5.3 percent over 12-months, with food at home rising one percent on a monthly basis and 5.4 percent annually.

 

[OKRuss]

Picking up a half side of grass fed Angus in early December which will help some. Beef prices then can go as high as they want. The rest of the food prices just can't be controlled or easily replaced must like gas. I don't mind driving less but eating less has me worried!

 

[PBramble]

How's that 15 dollar minimum wage working out now?

 

[SlugSlinger]

How's that 15 dollar minimum wage working out now?

Great point! People forget about this until it’s time for the next increase.

 

[JD8]

You have to have people actually working for this to be the fault of the $15 Min wage. This is the product of the Brandon administration and it's retarded policies.

 

[SlugSlinger]

And a small bit of information, that is a lot of folks highest expense, that the media doesn't share is energy prices are not included in the "inflation" reporting. Take a look below at the increase in energy for SEPTEMBER. Up 4.8%. That is one month. Annualize that and we are seeing 57.6% inflation in what it takes this country to do anything, ENERGY!




Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.2% in October compared with a year earlier as surging costs for food, gas and housing left Americans grappling with the highest inflation rate since 1990.

The year-over-year increase in the consumer price index exceeded the 5.4% rise in September, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. From September to October, prices jumped 0.9%, the highest month-over-month increase since June.

Inflation is eroding the strong gains in wages and salaries that have flowed to America's workers in recent months, creating political headaches for the Biden administration and congressional Democrats and intensifying pressure on the Federal Reserve as it considers how fast to withdraw its efforts to boost the economy.


Job gains and pay raises have been much healthier during the pandemic recovery than they were after the Great Recession roughly a decade ago. But in contrast to the years that followed that downturn, inflation is now accelerating and diminishing Americans' confidence in the economy, surveys have found.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called core prices rose 0.6% in from September to October. Core prices are now up 4.6% compared with a year ago.

Energy Prices Up the Most

Energy costs soared 4.8% just from September to October, with gasoline, natural gas and heating oil surging for the same reason that many other commodities have grown more expensive: Demand has risen sharply as Americans are driving and flying more, but supplies haven’t kept up.

Economists still expect inflation to slow once supply bottlenecks are cleared and Americans shift more of their consumption back to pre-pandemic norms. As COVID-19 fades, consumers should spend more on travel, entertainment and other services and less on goods such as cars, furniture, and appliances, which would reduce pressure on supply chains.

But no one knows how long that might take. Higher inflation has persisted much longer than most economists had expected. And inflation is spreading well beyond items like appliances and new and used vehicles that are directly affected by the pandemic.

“The inflation overshoot will likely get worse before it gets better,” said Goldman Sachs economists in a research note Sunday.

For months, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had described inflation as “transitory,” a short-term phenomenon linked to labor and supply shortages resulting from the speed with which the economy rebounded from the pandemic recession. But last week, Powell acknowledged that higher prices could last well into next summer.


The Fed chair announced that the central bank will start reducing the monthly bond purchases it began last year as an emergency measure to boost the economy. Investors now expect the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate twice next year from its record-low level near zero — much earlier than they had predicted a few months ago.

Many large companies are passing on the cost of higher pay to their customers, and in some cases, consumers are paying up rather than cutting back.

To attract workers, for example, McDonald’s boosted hourly pay 10% to 15% over the past year. To help cover those higher labor costs as well as more expensive food and paper, the company said last month that it raised prices 6% in the July-September quarter from a year earlier. Yet even so, company sales leapt 14% as virus restrictions eased.

Other companies have been more cautious. One of them, Wayfair, an online furniture retailer, said last week that its costs are rising as factories in Asia have shut down amid COVID outbreaks, ports are jammed, and labor costs have surged. But the company isn’t necessarily passing along all those higher costs.

“We are in a mass-oriented business where the average customer does not have an unlimited discretionary budget,” said Michael Fleisher, Wayfair’s chief financial officer. “Inflation is rampant across the economy, and there are competing demands for their time and wallet share.”

 

[SlugSlinger]

BIDINFLATION: Kraft Heinz to raise prices of products up to 20 percent
A Kraft Heinz spokesperson stated that the price increase was implemented to "to help offset the escalating inflation that the entire industry is facing."

As inflation continues to wreck havoc on American consumers' pockets, Kraft Heinz, the American food company behind items such as Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Heinz Ketchup, Jell-O, and more is expected to raise prices of many of their products by up to 20 percent.

Overall, prices on most of the company's products are expected to rise an average of 5 percent to combat inflation, according to Pittsburg Cable News Channel (PCNC).

Inflation in the United States is sitting at 5.4 percent as of September, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The price of Jell-O and puddings produced by Kraft Heinz will be going go up 16 percent, and Macaroni & Cheese will be going up 20 percent.

According to a November 1 letter obtained by CNN Business, Kraft Heinz told one regional distributor that prices will be going up starting on January 9.

That letter states that varieties of Jell-O gelatin and pudding will go up by about 7 to 16 percent, Bagel Bites frozen snacks will increase roughly 10 percent, and Cool Whip topping varieties will go up by about 7 to 10 percent.

Kraft Heinz stated that strong demand, supply constrains, and uncertainty forced prices to go up, adding that the "upward trend in packaging, transportation, ingredients and labor costs persists, reaching levels not seen in decades," all effect the company’s decision to raise prices.

In a statement to CNN Business, a Kraft Heinz spokesperson stated that the price increase was implemented to "to help offset the escalating inflation that the entire industry is facing."

PCNC also noted that Mondelez, which makes products such as Chips Ahoy cookies, Honey Maid graham crackers, and Oreos, will also be raising their prices, but did not give a specific number.

Mondelez CEO Dirk Van de Put said during a Tuesday analyst call discussing the company's third-quarter results that "we've been increasing prices, and we plan to increase prices more than we've done ... probably for quite a while as a company."


The company told CNN Business that a price increase of 6 to 7 percent on its products will take effect in January of 2022.

The new year increase in prices would come following a holiday season marked with increased prices, with this Thanksgiving being predicted to be the most expensive on record.

The New York Times stated in October that the price of turkeys will "hit record highs" this year, alongside popular products like canned pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and vanilla.

 

[SlugSlinger]

This just out. Does anyone know of a way to do this? I do, all the people that are going to be fired because of the mandate will reduce inflation.



President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he has asked National Economic Council to work to reduce energy costs and the Federal Trade Commission to push back on market manipulation in the energy sector in a larger push to reverse inflation.

The Democrat said he was committed to the independence of the Federal Reserve in its efforts to combat inflation. "Inflation hurts Americans pocketbooks, and reversing this trend is a top priority for me," he said in a statement.

 

[ForsakenConservative]

What you’re seeing is devaluation of our currency (inflation is, for the most part, a lie).
If you ”rent” something of high value, it costs a lot of money to do it. Conversely if the item is of no or little value, the “rent” is low. This is how our interest rates work. The higher the rates, the more valuable the currency. Our currency has been in a death spiral since interest rates were essentially eliminated under B. Housein Obumma (Quantitive Easing, or printing from nothing). The only way to stop it is to raise rates, but government debt payments would skyrocket so they wont do it.
They are passing it like a hot potato, hoping “their guy” is not in office when the dollar finally craters.
Hang on and keep your powder dry, the republic is lost.

 

[SlugSlinger]

Devalued currency or another way to look at it is a tax on all of us, more on the poor than others.