Good news from the consumer price index: Inflation is easing as gas and grocery prices fall

Let's start with some good news: Inflation relief.

Inflation eased for the third straight month in December as gas prices and grocery bills leveled off.

(Rent kept surging, but the other two household budget items declining made up for that).

Consumer prices were still up 6.5% from a year ago but down since November, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index, which measures what people pay for goods and services.

But, if you're not keeping track, that increase was the slowest annual gain since October 2021. It was also in line with economists' estimates. Phew. 

A trip to the grocery store is still an exercise in sticker shock. (Eggs!) But gas prices are declining on worries about a global recession and lower oil demand. 

How will we know if we are in a recession?

How will we know we’re in a recession? What will it look and feel like?

“It will feel uncomfortable,” Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist of Oxford Economics, told Paste BN. “Recessions are always painful but the next downturn won’t be anything close to…the past two.”

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About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from Paste BN. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you.