A person shops for groceries at Lincoln Market on March 10, 2022 in the Prospect Lefferts Garden neighborhood of Brooklyn borough in New York City.The Labor Department reported that consumer inflation rose 7.9% over the past year, the largest rise si Skyrocketing inflation rates are costing the average American household $296.45 in extra expenses, according to a recent analysis.Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics, came to the number following the latest Labor Department data revealing that consumer prices spiked 7.9% in February, according to data obtained by FOX Business.
Sweet took the average spending of U.S. households in February and compared it to what would have been spent in 2018 and 2019, when inflation hovered at 2.1%.The CPI over just the past six months rose 2.5% — a staggering level of growth, with an increase of .8 in February alone before Russia invaded Ukraine.
Energy rose by 3.5% in February following a 0.9% gain in each of the two prior months. "There is no doubt that the Federal Reserve will increase the target range for the fed funds rate later this month as higher energy prices are making the central bank's problems even worse," Sweet wrote in his analysis. "The Fed will respond." INFLATION RISES 7.9% IN FEBRUARY, A NEW 40-YEAR HIGHInflation hit a 40-year high in February, driven in part by higher gas prices.
The consumer price index climbed 7.9% on an annual basis, according to data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.