The just-released Consumer Price Index report shows overall prices increasing by a significant 9.1% over last year at this time, with the cost of several items in some cases seeing double-digit increases.
In a release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics it was noted that the increase was “broad-based, with the indexes for gasoline, shelter, and food being the target contributors.”
The energy index was up by 7.5% over May, with the gasoline index rising by 11.2%. The food index was once again on the upside, although to a lesser degree with a 1.0% rise.
The largest contributors to the index’s overall rise, said the CLS release, were the “indexes for shelter, used cars and trucks, medical care, motor vehicle insurance, and new vehicles.”
Staples contributing to the food index increase included bakery products, up by 2.1%, flour, with an increase of 5.3%, and dairy and related products, up by 1.7%.
The medical care index saw a modest increase of 0.7% in June, while the apparel index was only marginally higher at 0.8%.
After a nearly 4% increase in May, the energy index saw another significant increase in June at 7.5%, with the index for natural gas up by 8.2%. Altogether, the energy index has increased by a very large 41.6% since June of 2021, with the gasoline index recording a 59.9% increase in the last twelve months.
Construction input prices were up by 1.9% over May, but a larger 20.1% over a year ago. In a statement, Anirban Basu, chief economist with the Associated Builders and Contractors, said, “It’s no secret that contractors and their customers have been walloped by massive increases in construction materials prices.”
But Basu also pointed out that with the possibility of a recession looming, some commodity prices are expected to decrease, noting that the price of oil per barrel has dropped to well under $100, from an earlier level of $120.
Lawrence Yun, chief economist with the National Association of Realtors, said the latest Consumer Price Index numbers show that “consumer price inflation is the highest in over 40 years, and showed no sign of slowing down in June.”
Yun noted that home prices have also been on the rise since 2021 and added that “r=ents rose by 6% from last year and are rising at 10% annualized rate.”
Continued Yun: “Rents will continue to rise in the upcoming years.”
In a statement, President Biden called the CPI reading “unacceptably high,” adding: “Tackling inflation is my top priority—we need to make more progress, more quickly, in getting price increases under control.”
By Garry Boulard
