The federal government’s producer price index can show when higher prices are coming soon to a retailer near you.
Broken down by category, some of the sectors most impacted by tariffs saw a price decline from last month, including apparel and used cars and trucks.
Costs are still high. And according to the CPI for February, there were lots of price hikes and price drops within the grocery sector.
Data doesn’t always show a full picture. Example: Functional unemployment was 23.3% in January — very different than the 4% headline figure.
January’s producer price index shows big drops in the cost of fruit and veggies. But wholesale vs. retail isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison.
Shelter costs were 4.6% higher in December than a year earlier, and they account for more than a third of the consumer price index.
The producer price index calculates price inflation from businesses’ point of view — think labor costs or raw materials prices.
Monthly inflation in November rose by the most in seven months, showing it’s taking longer to tame inflation than expected.
Consumer inflation was pretty moderate in October, with prices overall rising 2.6% year-over-year. But car insurance bills have climbed by 14%—more than five times the rate of inflation overall.
While shelter costs are up from last year, according the consumer price index, other data shows rents have been falling in some metro areas.