There is 'nowhere to hide’ for consumers as inflation hits food, gas, housing

cnbc.com:

Consumer prices are rising at their fastest pace in decades — and that inflation has been most acute in household staple items like food, housing and transportation, making it hard to escape the budgetary sting.

The Consumer Price Index jumped 7.9% in February relative to a year earlier, the largest 12-month increase since January 1982, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.

The index measures price fluctuations across a broad basket of goods and services. A $100 basket a year ago would cost $107.90 today.

Shelter, gasoline and food were the largest contributors to the increase in overall prices in February, the Labor Department said. (The price index jumped by 0.8% over the month.)

These three categories were the three largest components of household budgets in 2020, respectively. Together, they accounted for 63% of total expenses, according to most recent Labor Department data.

«There's nowhere to hide,» said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate. «This is hitting everybody.»

Inflation «is most pronounced on items that are necessities,» he added.

(Gasoline is part of the broader «transportation» category, which also includes public transit costs and vehicle purchases. Car sales have also spiked over the last year.)

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Of course, inflation doesn't impact all consumers equally. For example, a consumer who commutes by car and has to fill up a gas tank may feel higher prices more acutely than one who works from home or uses public transportation. And American workers have gotten big raises in the past year, reducing