Inflation Grips the U.S. as Consumer Prices Soar
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Worthy News)– So you believe you’re getting less bang for the buck? It’s not your imagination! The prices of food, gasoline, and electricity continued to soar as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) posted their sharpest increase in 15 months.
Over the past 12 months, prices have increased 2.1%.
The rise in prices was broad-based, with food, energy, housing, apparel and other costs among those increasing. Food costs jumped 0.5%, the largest increase since August 2011, as meat, poultry fish and eggs rose 1.4% and fruits and vegetables rose 1.1%. Those categories have been rising for months, in part because of a drought in California, historically thin cattle herds and a virus in the pork population.
Energy costs also surged, with gasoline prices rising 0.7% and electricity costs increasing 2.3%. — Source
Gasoline in the U.S. climbed this week, boosted by a surge in oil, and is expected to reach the highest level for this time of year since 2008.
The pump price averaged $3.686 a gallon yesterday, up 1.2 cents from a week earlier, data posted on the Energy Information Administration’s website late yesterday show. Oil, which accounts for two-thirds of the retail price of gasoline, gained $2.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the same period and $4.88 in the month ended yesterday. — Source