What is the Current Inflation Rate?

Current Annual inflation for the 12 months ending in March 2020 is 1.54% down from 2.33% in February

The inflation rate plays an important role in determining the health of an economy. Countries with extremely high inflation rates are said to have hyperinflation and when this occurs the economy is often near collapse. But even moderate inflation can rapidly erode purchasing power and creates uncertainty as businesses have more difficulty estimating future costs. Usually, high inflation rates also correspond to high interest rates as lenders need to compensate for the decline in purchasing power of future interest and principal repayments. This results in higher costs of doing business and place an overall drag on the economy.

U.S. Annual Inflation Rate in Percent

We calculate the Current Inflation rate (see table below) to two decimal places while the Bureau of Labor Statistics only calculates inflation to one decimal place. Therefore, while being based on the same government Consumer Price index (CPI-U) our data provides a “finer” view.

July thru October 2019 is a perfect example, according to the government statistics July=1.8%, August=1.7%, and September=1.7%. However, our data shows inflation in July as 1.81%, August as 1.75%, September as 1.71%. Therefore instead of the inflation rate being “flat” it is actually falling slightly over this 3 month period. Of course this could just be a statistical anomaly but..

Using this enhanced view we might be alerted to watch for the possibility of a bigger decline… which in this case didn’t happen as inflation rates for the following months began rising to 1.76%, then 2.05% and 2.29%, and finally 2.49% in January 2020.

In another example we see August 2003 and September with the Government saying inflation rates were 2.2% and 2.3% respectively. This would lead us to believe that inflation rose 0.1% during that period. In actuality however, it rose from 2.16% to 2.32% or a 0.16% increase, substantially more than 0.1%! Once again this finer view gives us a better picture that inflation might be rising more than it appeared to be.

For a more in depth commentary see Annual Inflation Rate Commentary

 

According to the BLS commissioner’s report, “The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.4 percent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the largest monthly decline since January 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 1.5 percent before seasonal adjustment.

A sharp decline in the gasoline index was a major cause of the monthly decrease in the seasonally adjusted all items index, with decreases in the indexes for airline fares, lodging away from home, and apparel also contributing. The energy index fell 5.8 percent as the gasoline index decreased 10.5 percent. The food index rose in March, increasing 0.3 percent as the food at home index rose 0.5 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy fell 0.1 percent in March, its first monthly decline since January 2010. Along with the indexes for airline fares, lodging away from home, and apparel, the index for new vehicles declined in March. The index for shelter was unchanged, with increases in the indexes for rent and for owners’ equivalent rent offsetting the aforementioned decline in the index for lodging away from home. Indexes that increased in March include medical care, used cars and trucks, motor vehicle insurance, and education. ”

 

Current Inflation Table

The Inflation table below is updated monthly and provides the current US Inflation Rate which is for the preceding 12 months. The Inflation rate is calculated using the Current Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. CPI Index Release Dates

You may also be interested in a table of Monthly Inflation Rate data, which shows how much prices have increased over the previous month.

https://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Inflation_Rate/CurrentInflation.asp?reloaded=true

 

Since high inflation is detrimental to the overall economy but beneficial to the government (since it allows them to pay back their debt with “cheaper dollars”) the Federal Reserve has a constant balancing act to try to reconcile the government’s desires for higher inflation with the need for a healthy economy.

In an effort to convince people that inflation is really good, the government has a constant media circus going promoting the benefits of inflation and decrying the evils of deflation— but what’s so bad about falling prices?)

Their major argument revolves around the “stimulating” effects of inflation. Basically it makes people feel richer until they eventually realize that each of their dollars now buys less. But in the meantime they tend to spend the “excess”. This results in people buying things they wouldn’t have, had they realized that their money was actually worth less than they thought. Eventually this results in a monetary “hangover” as the effects of their buying binge become apparent.

Inflation is largely a result of increases in the money supply months or even years previously. Because of this serious lag in the time between the money creation and the time it shows up in the economy the FED must estimate the impact their money creation efforts will have years in advance. The Federal Reserve tries to target a 2% inflation rate but often over or underestimates the effect their actions will have.

The Federal Reserve monitors the inflation rate for its targeting purposes using the “Core Inflation Rate” which excludes food and energy leading some people to mistakenly believe that the U.S. government doesn’t track those items in the inflation rate. Actually the Bureau of labor statistics does track them but the FED simply excludes them for targeting purposes because they are volatile and subject to external forces unrelated to the money supply.

We believe a picture is worth a thousand words, so we track the recent inflation rate in chart form to give you a better sense of the current direction of inflation and also the longer term inflation trends.

The inflation rate is calculated using the Consumer Price Index or CPI.
To calculate inflation from a month and year to a later month and year, Try our Inflation calculator.

 

Tim McMahon’s grandfather lived through the hyperinflation of Weimar, Germany. To say he was an original “gold bug” would be an understatement. Tim began reading his grandfather’s “hard money” newsletters at age 16, and the dividends from gold stocks helped put him through college. In 1995, the Financial Trend Forecaster newsletter was born. In January 2003, InflationData.com was created to specialize in all forms of information about the nature of information about the nature of inflation. In 2009, Tim added Elliott Wave University to help teach the principles of Elliott Wave analysis. In 2013, he began publishing OptioMoney.