Here’s how much inflation is costing Americans each month

Spiral inflation is costing the typical US home an additional $ 296 a month, according to a new analysis by Moody’s Analytics.

Supply chain constraints and strong economic demand, combined with U.S. sanctions on Russian companies, are driving a sharp rise in the price of food, energy and other items. The consumer price index, a measure of the evolution of the prices of a basket of goods over time, increased 7.9% in February compared to a year ago – the fastest annual rate since the Reagan administration.

“It will get worse before it gets better,” the economic research firm said in a report.

A key factor in inflation is rising gasoline priceswhich have steadily increased during the economic recovery amid rising consumer demand and, more recently, Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Persistent bottlenecks in critical products such as semiconductors and industrial metalsthey also continue to hamper supplies and increase costs.

“US inflation is at its highest level in about four decades,” Moody’s said. “Much of the inflation has been caused by the supply constraints generated by the pandemic, although the Russian invasion of Ukraine is creating additional restrictions that will increase inflation and for longer than previously thought before the assault began. “.

According to Moody, consumers spend less on goods and services that experience the strongest price increases. These include rent, food, vehicles, furniture and household equipment.

“The son of the poster is the new and used cars,” said Ryan Sweet, author of the report. “Supply chain disruptions in chip manufacturing in Asia Pacific are limiting the amount of vehicle inventory in the U.S. and pushing prices to the ceiling.”

Grocery prices have also risen, a particular blow for Americans living on a limited budget. 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.

“What’s happening in Europe has put pressure on food prices in restaurants and grocery stores, and we’re seeing rising consumer inflation expectations. It’s attributed to the prices we’re seeing in grocery stores and the gas station.” , said Sweet. .

Adobe data shows that online prices are also high, an unprecedented change as e-commerce has exploded over the past two decades. The digital analytics firm found that consumers have spent an additional $ 32 billion on the same amount of goods during the pandemic.

“We’ve never seen online inflation before. You could expect people to get more money for money in a given year,” Adobe analyst Taylor Shreiner told CBS MoneyWatch.

“The fact that people spend more to get the same goods is a really big change driven by supply chain issues and job challenges,” he added. “It’s new to consumers.”