June at 3%
 

Inflation was as high as 9.1% nationwide a year ago. We were still recovering from global shut-downs post-pandemic, restoring jobs lost, getting manufacturers back on track, and a bunch of other stuff that's political so I won't detail it here but - politics certainly played some part.

The good news, is that the inflation rate has been in decline for the past 12 months, consecutively, and hit 3% as of the end of June.

Have you been to the gas station or the food store recently ?

3% drop for June is good news going forward but what about all the prices that were raised
in the past to the present, will those prices drop........I think not.

That would be up to the sellers of whatever you're asking about.

Yep, good to see gas prices are down over the past year and similar to 2021 prices.

Yup. Gas was $2.94 this morning at BJ's, which is where I get my gas. That's 4 cents lower than it was a week ago. It was $2.98 for around a month. It was consistently over $3.00 before that.

As I posted in response to MichaelG, the *price* that you pay as a customer, when inflation rates drop, is up to the seller. They're getting things cheaper, it's up to them to decide whether or not to reduce their retail price keep the higher margins.

I am a little confused. Prices didn't drop. So there is no price reduction to be passed on. They only went up 3% instead of 6% or 9%.

Interesting article in the WSJ today that provides a calculator that lets you pick products that are most important to you, to create a "personalized" inflation number. Not perfect, but good insight.

For me, it shows it shooting up like a rocket in 2021, and slowly coming down over the most recent months.

The biggest component of inflation that I see is energy prices. Everything uses energy to be created, mined, grown, transported, keep hot/cold, etc. When gasoline/diesel/NG is expensive, it gets baked into everything.

Want to keep inflation low? Keep energy prices low.

Yesterday on 466 all the Circle K stations were $3.49 for regular...

Based on how we tend to spend our money do not believe inflation is slowing down at all.

Restaurants and groceries keep going up by considerably more than 3%.

At the end of the day overall inflation is 10% or so.

Go out on 466, yesterday most stations were $3.49 for regular, I don't see prices coming down, but quite the opposite.

So - here's how it works:

Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.

Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3.

Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.

Don't you think that is gouging people in TV? I think prices in TV are higher than in some other areas of the country. I am with family in NH for the summer and Market Basket prices are excellent. Lobsters $7,99 yesterday, fresh and they boil them for you. Swordfish $13,99 lb. Fresh haddock $8.99 lb. I even found a piece of Halibut at 18.99 lb. They had two Lobster rolls, fresh made while you waited for $8.99 for two - real lobster, none of that pink faux stuff. Yes, we are fish people, deep cold water fish, no steak in this house.

Food prices are definitely coming down around us. What surprises me is this area of NH is very affluent, and yet food prices are very affordable. It makes no sense to me, but I am not an economist.

I don't live near 466. I live near 441, and all along 441, the prices are in the $3.30's.

The price of gas is based on - whatever the oil company wants to charge. If you don't like paying $3.49/gallon, drive a mile out of your way and pay $3.37/gallon. Or drive three miles out of your way and get it for $2.94/gallon.

People are willing to pay $3.49/gallon, and so - that's what they'll be charged. Such is the nature of free enterprise and a free market.

You can't compare lobster prices in New Hampshire to gas prices in Florida. You also can't get Maine lobster in Florida without paying an enormous premium, and it is likely to come in pre-cooked and frozen, not live in a tank.

Lobsters ALWAYS sell for market price. If they're in season /and/ local, you'll pay less than when they're out of season or shipped from somewhere else. If it's out of season AND shipped from somewhere else, you'll pay even more than that. When I lived in Connecticut I couldn't get a lobster roll for under $18 (including fries). But that'd be around 4 ounces (1/4 lb) of hot Maine lobster meat, no mayo or sauce but kept hot in a crockpot of butter, so you'd get maybe a tablespoon of butter in that 1/4 pound of meat. The Market Basket lobster roll is less than 4 ounces of cold lobster meat and mayonnaise. So maybe around 2 ounces of just lobster meat. The Market Basket lobster rolls are referred to as "finger sandwiches."

Is that a weird fantasy world math? Name the widget. Something technology based? Obsolete today because something newer was created?

The inflation numbers are published monthly, for a 1 year span. When there is a huge cost bump in a month from a year ago, and that bump falls off the moving average as time passes. So the "change" appears better. In actuality, we are still saddled with that huge cost increase today.

The fact is that the cost of living is way higher now than a year ago. Sure, one can hand pick an example of things that are not still up (typ obsolete technology), but everything else is way up. Food (meat, pop, bread, fruits, grains, etc), energy, insurance, hard goods, cars, labor, water, clothing... 99% of things cost a lot more now. Not 2% more (like prior to JB), many are 10% to 200% more.

Even if the inflation number goes to zero... all that says is that things are still way more expensive today than a year ago.

Right you are

HUH prices didn't drop , they did not increase as much as previously, some commodities have dropped lowering overall inflation

So we should be happy prices are still going up but just not as much?

Search oil companies record profits and you'll know why gas prices are high.

[QUOTE=OrangeBlossomBaby;2234539

As I posted in response to Michael61, the *price* that you pay as a customer, when inflation rates drop, is up to the seller. They're getting things cheaper, it's up to them to decide whether or not to reduce their retail price keep the higher margins.[/QUOTE]

Wrong Michael - I think you meant Michael G - There are two of us Michael’s here 😀

With very few exceptions, inflation has ALWAYS existed. There's only been a scant handful of years in the past 50 years, when the inflation rate was at a negative. Prices go up. That's just how society works. If you want to eliminate the chance of inflation, you'll need to switch to communism. I'm guessing no one here wants to do that.

Prices are currently up because companies know that you'll pay what they charge for what they're selling. They were up at a much higher rate in the past year because of supply chain issues, among other things. Most of those other things and the supply chain issues are resolved, or resolving. And so the rate has dropped back down.

If prices are still up, it's not because of inflation. It's because of greed. COSTS are down. That's why I can get my gallon of gas for $2.98, and why people getting gas on 466 are paying $3.39.

Oh and to whoever was all upset about it being $3.49 - I was just there today, it's $3.39 at the Circle K by Southern Trace. If you have their payment card thing, it's $3.29.

That's 9% +3%, if the latest reading was 0% we are stuck at the cumulative level.

The attempt at a political post has failed. We are and have been in a recession. You don't get to change the definition just because you caused it.

I think your math is wrong. If an item cost $100 two years ago and went up 9% the first year, it would cost $109 in 2022. If inflation goes up 3% the next year, the price should be about $112.27. The price did not go down.

Sort of like compound interest!

But you are forgetting about the rent they have to pay. The ones located closer to The Villages pay higher rent than the ones out in the country. Same goes for taxes and insurance.

(I have this same argument all the time with my husband)

The economist seems to be forgetting that we were under $2.25 a gallon when we were energy independent. But that doesn't fit the narrative.

[QUOTE=OrangeBlossomBaby;2234569]So - here's how it works:

Widgets were invented 10 years ago, and were $1 each.

Last year, you needed a widget. Last year, widgets cost $9 each.

This year, the same widget is $3.

Yes - it's up from when it first came out on the market. But it's much less than it was last year.[/QUOTE

No here is how it works. 3 years ago it cost $1.00. 2 years ago it cost $1.10. 1 year ago it cost $ 1.22. This year the rate of inflation has slowed so it cost $1.28.

I still get a charge of of those that are fixated on higher gasoline prices. A reminder that it is supply and demand. During the covid years demand was very low and $2.29 was common. Compare it to the demand now.

No, here is how it works.
In July 2021 the widget was $1.00. Inflation from July 2021 to July 2022 was 9%. The widget now cost $1.09. Inflation from July 2022 to July 2023 is 3%. The widget now cost $1.1227 The cost is still going up, just not as fast.

:loco::loco::loco:

Nope.

It's an economic cycle.

So yeah I had my math and logic all turned around upside down and backward. I guess my point remains the same though: the rise of inflation is lower now, than it was a year ago. It's been steadily decreasing all year. There is almost always inflation. It's a rare occurrence when there is a year of no inflation. It's also a rare occurrence when there is a -significantly- steady decrease for a full year.

This almost 6-point decrease is pretty significant. You can argue the math all you want, but I know I for one would prefer a 3% inflation rate than a 9% inflation rate. Zero would be best but - that isn't on the list of options at the moment.

100 votes for 3% vs. 9%. :pepper2::pepper2:

Zero feel like the best.......................but it does come at a cost..............tomorrow.

:posting:

There's no such thing as a free lunch, so they say.

I don’t think many are going to argue they would rather have 9% inflation over 3%, but making the argument that prices are going down is not valid. Cost of items are still increasing…

Traditionally two quarters in a row when the gnp went down was considered to be a recession. Somehow that changed last year.

Has anyone gone to the free lunch with the Brothers trying to burn your dead body.
Lots of advertising on this site, but really.................free lunch and sign up for your burning?!?!?!

The above example scares me. I guess, if I read the words and it were a true or false statement for a first grader, I would have to say - True.

But that is not the issue. The issue was the current month's inflation index was 3%.

You stated that the inflation rate is down to 3%. That means that inflation was up "this month" at an annual rate of 3 per cent. It does not mean that the prices went up by 3% this month but only that if that rate continued at that level for 12 months it would be an annual rate of 3%. Likewise, it does not negate any of the price rises that have occurred in the past.

A single item does not follow the inflation rate cost. It is a basket of goods the government uses to determine "the rate" of inflation. Simply stated, that if that basket was $100 last year and the "annual" rate of inflation for the last 12 months was 10 %. (I am not compounding). The basket would now cost $110. If this month's inflation rate was plus 3% and stayed that way for a year, The price would be $113.30.

Am I misinterpreting?

You are correct
 

No, you have stated it all correctly.

Market Basket is an anomaly. They are privately owned and had a very public family war over control of the chain. One side wanted to treat it like a corporation and the other wanted to treat it like a family member. Eventually the corporate slugs were bought out.

Market Basket can undercut Shaws and Hannafords here because they are not beholden to shareholders to maximize revenue. They can make a fair profit and be happy with that while paying their employees a fair wage. You just don't see nametags at the other supermarkets saying they have over 20 years at the store. That says something.

There was a famous strike that went on during the 'kerfuffle' and people supported the strike by simply not going there. Artie (the non-corporate family member) ended up winning because of the loyalty of the employees and customers. I've never seen anything like it, personally, in my lifetime.