June report shows inflation hike is the largest yearly increase in over 40 years

EL PASO, Texas – The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Consumer Price Index for June, which shows US consumer prices jumping by 9.1% year-over-year. The most significant gain since November 1981.

That's up from the annual rate of 8.6% in May. 

For June, the index showed that overall prices consumers pay for various goods and services rose by 1.3% from May.

According to Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody's Analytics, the typical American household now needs to spend $493 more per month to buy the same goods and services they did last year.

Grocery prices rose 12% over the past 12 months.

Compared to last year, Butter rose nearly 35%, Eggs went up about 33%, and chicken increased by 18%.

However, the largest contributor to the increase was gasoline prices-- which were up nearly 60 % over the year.

This report does not reflect the 40-cent decrease that we’ve recently seen in gas prices, which UTEP Economics Professor Tom Fullerton said will be reflected in the July report.

Fullerton said the June number was severe enough that the federal reserve may raise short-term interest rates again, this time by 0.75%.

“That is going to put a damper on overall economic activity, the big question is whether or not the national economy is going to tip into a recession, right now, the labor market is very strong, but the risk of a national recession is more pronounced as a consequence of the bad inflationary news that emerged in June,” said Fullerton.

Fullerton suggests El Pasoans pay for mandatory expenses first, like housing, electricity, gas, and water to continue saving. He also said to change your transportation patterns and take advantage of lower prices, even if it means shifting your consumption patterns from beef and chicken to fish.