US inflation was 0.8% in March; 8.5% YoY

Rising prices are becoming a worrying issue for all Americans. And it is that, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped 1.2 percent in March after gaining 0.8 percent in February. As a consequence, the US inflation over the previous 12 months was 8.5 percent before seasonal adjustement.

Increases in the indexes for gasoline, shelter, and food were the largest contributors to the seasonally adjusted all items increase. The gasoline index rose 18.3 percent in March while the food index rose 1.0 percent.

Following a 0.5 percent increase the previous month, the US inflation for all products (excluding food and energy) was 0.3 percent in March. The shelter index was the most important component in the rise, with other indices such as those for airline prices, household furniture and operations, medical care, and motor vehicle insurance also playing a role.

On the opposite, the index for used vehicles and trucks declined 3.8 percent over the month.

The energy index rose 32.0 percent over the last year, and the food index increased 8.8 percent. It’s the largest 12-month increase since the period ending May 1981.

It might interest you: Police is searching for the NYC subway shooting author

What about Philadelphia?

Prices in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (P-C-W) area advanced 1.5 percent for the two months ending in February 2022, the BLS stated.

The February increase was mostly attributable to a 1.2 percent increase in the all items less food and energy index, which saw nearly every major component increase from December, according to Mid-Atlantic Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee.

The remaining third of the overall increase was accounted for by a 4.7 percent increase in the energy index and a 2.1 percent rise in the food index. These figures are not seasonally adjusted.

The CPI numbers of March in the P-C-W area are still unknown.

The largest inflation since 1990 in P-C-W

The CPI increased by 7.3 percent over the 12 months ending February 2022, the biggest annual gain since December 1990.

All-items inflation, excluding food and energy, climbed 5.9% year over year, the highest annual gain since March 1991. The increase in energy prices was primarily due to the rising gasoline prices, which increased by 24.4 percent.

Food prices rose 8.2 percent year over year, the highest increase since February 1990.

It might interest you:

Philadephia’s talent was recognized at the 64th Grammy Awards