A Long Term Look At Inflation
Doug Short | Apr 16, 2014 01:55AM ET
The April Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) released yesterday morning puts the March year-over-year inflation rate at 1.51%, which is well below the 3.88% average since the end of the Second World War and 37% below its 10-year moving average.
For a comparison of headline inflation with core inflation, which is based on the CPI excluding food and energy, see this monthly feature .
For better understanding of how CPI is measured and how it impacts your household, see my Inside Look at CPI components.
For an even closer look at how the components are behaving, see this X-Ray View of the data for the past five months.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has compiled CPI data since 1913, and numbers are conveniently available from the FRED repository (Shadow Government Statistics , to which I subscribe, offers provocative analysis on a range of government statistics. While I do not share his hyperinflationary expectations, at least not based on current economic conditions, I find his skeptical view of government data to be filled with thoughtful insights.
For independent evidence that the Consumer Price Index is a reasonably accurate representation of the prices we pay, see the MIT Billion Prices Project
Get The News You Want