[CAF Note: The following is a complete lie. Shadowstats estimates the current annual inflation rate at 9+%.
That fits with what I am observing. The theory that price rises are modest, excepting food and gas is deeply insulting. My review
of grocery stores in West Tennessee is food inflation is running well ahead of 9+%. As of two weeks ago, the six month yields on long treasury bond funds was -8.3%.]
By Danielle Kurtzleben
The Labor Department reported on Friday that consumer prices rose in February by the fastest rate since 2009. Last month, the consumer price index grew by 0.7 percent. That’s up from zero-percent price growth in both January and December.
However, it’s not time to worry about out-of-control inflation just yet. The uptick was driven in large part by gas prices, which grew by more than 9 percent from January to February. Excluding energy and food prices, which tend to be volatile, the so-called “core CPI” grew by a much more tame 0.2 percent.
Because of the large contribution from higher gas prices—which everyone can see as they pass the gas station—the bump in the CPI did not startle economists.
