November Inflation INCREASE. NEW Report Explains How It's Hitting Your Wallet

Inflation is definitely starting to trend in the wrong direction. That's according to the latest Consumer Price Index report released this morning. It found that in the month of November, the price index for every single thing we buy, use, and eat increased 2.7 percent over November of 2023. That's hotter than the year-over-year number in October when it was 2.6 percent, and definitely above the September year-over-year number of 2.4 percent. See, that increase is not what the Federal Reserve wants to see. They want to see it going in the other direction. Now, 2.7 percent is definitely better than the recent peak in inflation in June of 2022 when it was 9.1 percent. But the Fed wants to see that number ultimately at 2 percent. Not 2.4, not 2.6, and certainly not 2.7. So I'm going to tell you what increased and how it will impact your wallet in a second. But first, you should know that the Federal Reserve is going to be meeting next week to determine what they should do with interest rates. And that's going to also impact your wallet because those interest rates determine things like your credit card rates, your personal loan rates, and new mortgage rates, just to name a few. Most economists believe even with inflation increasing, when you balance that with the jobs report and other recent economic reports, they believe the Federal Reserve will still ultimately cut interest rates by a quarter percent next week. But no one knows that for sure until the announcement is made. And the Fed could also see something in these numbers that nobody else is looking at, and they could instead choose to keep the rates steady and not cut them at all. Now, let's talk about what's causing this increase in inflation. According to the report, it's shelter. Shelter is up again, almost 5 percent from November of 2023. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the increase in shelter accounts for almost 40 percent of the increase in overall inflation in the month of November. Food overall was up year over year and also month over month. No surprise during the Thanksgiving holiday, which was in November, we saw increases in airfare, which were up both month over month and year over year. And while gas prices between November 2024 and November 2023 are down more than 8 percent, they're still up between October and November of 2024. Now, speaking of cars, we've started to see the index for used cars and trucks increase month over month in October. And that trend continued again in November. That number went up again by 2 percent. But when you compare the November number from 2024 to November 2023, used cars and trucks are still almost three and a half percent less. The fact remains right now, inflation is stubborn. And this report makes it clear when President-elect Trump takes over in January, he is going to be dealing with this very same stubborn inflation. As I have said repeatedly, no one can wave a magic wand and make inflation go away without crashing the economy, of course. Getting inflation down without triggering recession is a delicate process, and it may threaten to complicate Trump's plans to lower taxes and raise tariffs, both of which would increase inflation. So if you want to read this latest Consumer Price Index report for yourself, I will email it out to you tonight in my News Girl News Roundup email, so make sure you sign yourself up.