The US inflation figure for September has confirmed the most negative forecasts. Prices increased by 8.2% compared to the same month of the previous year. This figure represents a drop of only one tenth of a percentage point over August inflation, which was 8.3%. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, now stands at 6.6%.
This implies that, despite the Federal Reserve's accelerated interest rate hikes, the Biden Administration's government spending policy and Anti-Inflation Plan are causing aggregate demand to increase, and inflation is not correcting.
The data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics represent a slight slowdown from the strong summer increases, but remain the highest figure in 40 years.
As regards the evolution of prices during the month of September, the general data shows that prices rose by 0.4% during these 30 days. But core inflation rose 0.6%.
The food index rose 0.8% in September, the same as in August. Fruits and vegetables increased in price by 1.6%, while cereals and bakery products increased by 0.9%. With these figures, food prices accumulated a rise of 11.2% in the last year.
Hardship for food banks
As an example of what this increase means, at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, the cost of food has gone up 20%, with staples such as chicken, turkey, pinto beans and rice blowing the organization's budget. Even worse has been the increase in the cost of fuel, which has shot up by 50%, despite the drop in gasoline prices in recent months.
According to the executive director, Michael Flood, in statements to The Washington Post the organization served 800,000 people in September. This is a "high" number, which has been the norm this year. Flood also warned that there are families who have to do without even food, as they are unable to put together a check to pay for rent, medicine or energy.
