Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. Inflation is down, but don’t get too excited, it’s likely just a temporary thing. According to the latest data, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, which is the gauge used by the Federal Reserve, dropped 0.1% from May, bringing the annual rate to 3.7% from 4.1%. I mean, that’s a nice little drop, but let’s not pop the champagne corks just yet.
The reason for this slowdown is largely due to energy prices, specifically gasoline prices, which took a tumble in June. But, of course, that was short-lived, and prices are already back up. I mean, who didn’t see that coming? The national average is now back above $4 a gallon, because, well, that’s just how it goes. You can’t have nice things, like cheap gas, for too long, right?
The Commerce Department’s data shows that gasoline and energy goods prices sank 9.2% in June, which is the largest monthly drop since August 2022. But, as I said, that was just a tease. Prices have since shot back up, because, you know, the Middle East is a complicated place. The US and Iran reached a Memorandum of Understanding and ceasefire in mid-June, but that was broken later that month, and now we’re back to square one.
When you strip out volatile energy and food prices, the “core” PCE index actually rose 0.1% on a monthly basis and was up 3.3% from a year ago. So, yeah, inflation is still a thing, folks. The PCE price index is part of the Commerce Department’s monthly Personal Income and Outlays report, which is a fancy way of saying they track how Americans earn, spend, and save their money.
In June, consumers increased their spending by 0.3% from the month before, with health care, motor vehicles, financial services, and insurance driving the gain. And when you adjust for inflation, spending was up 0.4%. So, people are still spending money, but not as much as they could be, if inflation wasn’t, you know, a thing.
The story is still developing, and I’m sure we’ll get more updates on this, but for now, let’s just say that inflation is still a wild card. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll get back to the good old days of cheap gas and low inflation. Ha! Wouldn’t that be something? In conclusion, inflation might be down for now, but it’s not going away anytime soon, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next. And that’s the way the cookie crumbles, folks.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
