Going somewhere, putting a roof over your head and food on the table all continued to be increasingly expensive last month, as the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose a hotter-than-expected 0.4% over August.
Over the last 12 months, the CPI has risen 3.7%, the same as the month before. A handful of consumer expenditures caused the most pain.
The cost of shelter was the largest contributor to the monthly all-items increase, accounting for over half of the rise. An increase in the gasoline index was also a major contributor to the all items monthly increase. While the major energy component indexes were mixed in September, the energy index rose 1.5% over the month.
The food index increased 0.2% in September, as it did in the previous two months. But there was a big difference in the cost of groceries and food consumed at restaurants. The index for food at home increased by 0.1% over the month while the index for food away from home rose by 0.4%.
Overall, the cost of transportation continued to go up. Not only did gasoline prices rise 2.1%, but the cost of keeping vehicles running continued a multi-month rise. The cost of maintaining and repairing cars and trucks rose 10.% last month while the cost of insuring those vehicles surged by nearly 19%.
Here’s what was cheaper
The only break consumers got as far as transportation is concerned is if they traveled by air. In September, airfares dropped by 13.4%.
Paying for a place to live is getting to be increasingly difficult. In September, rents and assorted costs rose 7.4%. It wasn’t much cheaper for homeowners as the owners’ equivalent of rent costs increased by 7.1%.
Among food costs, dairy and related products was the only category to get cheaper in September, falling by 0.2%. Consumers using natural gas also saw relief as the price plunged by 19.1% from August.
The price of used cars and trucks dropped another 8% last month but remain well over their pre-pandemic cost. A lengthy auto workers strike could well reverse that consumer-friendly trend in the months ahead.
Oliver Rust is head of Product at independent inflation data aggregator Truflation, which tracks prices in real-time. He says prices appear to be falling this month.
The increase in [September] inflation was driven by gasoline and housing, with some downward relief coming from utilities, medical care, and used cars,” Rust told ConsumerAffairs. “In comparison, Truflation data puts U.S. CPI at 2.37% as of October 12, as our diverse, real-time data streams show strong declines in the food and beverages, utilities, and health sectors over the last quarter.”
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2023-10-13 11:02:19
