Consumer Price Index

Food prices in December were up 2.4% for the year — and if you go back five years, they’re up about 25%, according to the latest Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Overall inflation was up 0.3% from November to December.

The data were collected in late November, during peak Black Friday discount season.

“If we don’t know what the quality of the data will be. Well, that’s uncertainty. That’s risky,” says Columbia finance professor Laura Veldkamp.

Instead, it’s labor costs and the weather.

As inflation accelerates, the job market is slowing. That leaves the Federal Reserve in a dilemma over its dual mandate of stabilizing prices and maximizing employment.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is no longer gathering data from parts of New York, Nebraska, and Utah.

Shelter played a key role in January’s higher-than-expected consumer price index. A dwindling supply of apartments could add to that effect.

While shelter costs are up from last year, according the consumer price index, other data shows rents have been falling in some metro areas.

Ticket prices rose 10.3% in the last year. The seats are plush, the resale market has grown and dynamic pricing extracts more money from fans.