Everything your family bought last year now costs about $5,200 more

Americans pay more to put food on the table, fill cars, and heat their homes, and more. The rising cost of these necessities will cost the typical household an additional $ 5,200 this year, economists say in a clear illustration of the cost of ongoing inflation.

Inflationary pressures are not expected to ease this year, leaving the average family with an additional $ 433 in monthly costs for the same goods and services, according to Bloomberg economists Andrew Husby and Anna Wong. The most expensive food and energy, including gasoline and home heating, account for about $ 2,200 of that total, they said.

The results come after an analysis earlier this month by Moody’s Analytics found that inflation was picking up. additional bite of $ 296 of the typical family budget each month. Inflation in the United States hit a new 40-year high in February, with a jump in consumer prices 7.9% compared to a year ago – the fastest annual rate since the Reagan administration.

Not surprisingly, the percentage of Americans who believe inflation is the nation’s number one problem is also approaching a four-decade high, a Gallup poll found this week.

“The prices that people notice most often are energy and food. Fill up every week and go to the grocery store every week and there are still inflationary pressures,” said Paul Ashworth, chief economist in North America. at Capital Economics. CBS News.

that of Russia invasion of Ukraine it has thrown another key into the mix, with conflict that has raised already high food and energy costs and further hampered global supply chains. Oil prices have been falling in recent days, but there has been no proportional drop in bomb prices, Jeff Stein, a political journalist for the Washington Post, told CBS News.

Gas prices are also unlikely to fall sharply soon, as Bloomberg economists estimate that oil could reach $ 160 a barrel later this year. The national average for gas was $ 4.24 on Wednesday, 10 cents below recent record highs, but still about $ 1.35 more than a year ago, according to AAA.

In response, the Biden administration is considering ways to reduce fuel costsfrom the suspension of federal gas taxes to continuing to take advantage of the U.S. Strategic Oil Reserve.

“This is a kind of five-alarm fire in the White House; they are extremely concerned,” Stein said.

Grocery prices have also spiraled up, hitting Americans living on a budget harder. He higher increases in food prices they are for meat, with pork and beef increasing by between 14% and 20%, respectively, compared to a year ago. That is to force more Americans depend on food banks for foodas more fall short after paying fixed monthly costs such as mortgages or rents.

Husby and Wong noted that these balloon costs are offset somewhat by the increase in wages and savings accumulated during the pandemic. However, the rapid decline in savings will lead to more Americans finding work, which they believe will reduce wage growth as the country’s workforce expands.