Inflationary Year 2019: From Gas Prices to Food Prices, Oil Prices, and Supply Chain Turbulence, and Russia’s War
We have talked about inflation a lot this year. The rising cost of food, pricier oil, supply-chain turmoil, Russia’s war in Ukraine, growing wages and a lingering labor shortage all contributed to higher prices that touched almost every part of our lives.
Gas prices are back to last year’s levels, after spiking to a record high of just over $5 a gallon this summer. For perspective, a gallon of regular has fallen by almost 50 cents in just a month, making it about $10 cheaper to fill up an average SUV today than a month ago.
Adobe reported that the prices of toys and electronics fell in November, which led to a surge in demand. Prices for toys and sporting goods declined over the past year.
Retailers with too much inventory will mark down the goods they have into the end of the year as consumers shift from buying couches and clothes to going on vacations and spending their money.
In other areas, price increases are moderate because global supply chains work themselves out and commodity and shipping costs decline. Skyrocketing rent and automobile prices are still rising, but more slowly. After hitting a record high this summer, chicken prices have dropped sharply. And according to real estate site RealPage, apartment rents have fallen for three consecutive months.
Major inflation gauges, while stubbornly high, have shown signs of peaking. The PCE Price Index, which the Federal Reserve uses as a proxy for inflation, rose by 6 percent in October versus a year ago, but it was smallest monthly gain in more than a year. The final Consumer Price index report of the year will be released on Tuesday and the Producer Price index showed signs of cooling in October.
Breakfast has gotten quite expensive, which means it’s the most important meal of the day. Eggs increased in price because of the bird-flu outbreak. Butter and milk prices went up due to lower dairy production. The war in Ukraine made bread more expensive. It is a break if bacon andamp;avocados are giving us. So is beef. It’s what’s for breakfast and dinner?
After cooped-up 2020 and 2021, this was the comeback year. Movie theaters and concert venues filled up. Big demand plus hiring difficulties and higher food costs pushed up menu prices. Meanwhile, after massive supply-chain backlogs of home electronics, stores were finally overstocked – just when people kind of didn’t need any more, giving us some of the biggest discounts around.
This was the year of raises that were quickly eaten by inflation. A pandemic-fueled unionization wave continued, though it began to slow. And forget “quiet quitting” – people actually quit jobs and took new (better?) ones at such a rapid pace that nationwide productivity took a hit as workers settled in to new positions (at least that’s the most optimistic explanation).
Inflation is cheaper than it sounds: the last three years for the U.S. coal, the metaverse, the cryptocurrencies and the stock market
Ahoy savers! Sure, planes, hotels and automobiles (fuel and maintenance) got more expensive, but have you considered an ocean liner? It’s difficult to get a visa in the U.S., but the CDC is on board now.
It was back to the future for markets. Global coal use is on pace for a record high as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Oil companies had a banner year thanks to pumped-up prices. The metaverse and thecryptocurrencies got a reality check. The tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange lost nearly a third of its value.
It wasn’t a terrible year in this case. The economy grew, supply chain pressures eased and fewer people are unemployed. As long as you don’t need to buy anything or borrow any money, things are looking pretty good!
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/22/1144157601/inflation-pricier-cheaper-2022-charts
Measurement of the Dollar against the Rest of the World in December 2022 to December 2021. The latest data comparing prices, stock prices, and other markets
The latest data is used to make calculations. Most compared November 2022 to November 2021. The prices are from the month of December. Data was from October. The stock prices and other markets data for December 21 are the same as the same day a year ago. The dollar is measured against the rest of the world. The dollar is measured against a basket of currencies.