Harsh new inflation reality
"Coming just a week after the midterm elections exposed the depth of voters' concerns about affordability, the message for the Fed is uncomfortable but clear: The inflation fight is not finished," Shah wrote.
Key points
- What they're saying: "Today's inflation report is a warning shot," Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, wrote Tuesday morning.
- But assuming prices that month were halfway between September and November, overall inflation over the last 12 months was 4% — up from 3.7% in September.
- Inflation has now outpaced or matched wage growth for three consecutive months, leaving workers with less purchasing power.
Why it matters: October marked the third straight month of hotter-than-expected inflation, defying repeated predictions over the last couple of years that price pressures were finally about to ease.
Additional details
- In this sixth consecutive year of steep price increases, consumers are finding there is nowhere to hide from inflation.
- Zoom in: Inflation is persistent in the services sector, which is largely insulated from swings in energy prices.
- It also is a sharp acceleration from the summer, when underlying inflation appeared to be cooling.
- America's inflation problem is stubborn, broadening out and showing no sign of letting up.
- Another measure similarly paints a picture of hot inflation.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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