Wait,… wha? Prices were supposed to skyrocket, so said the experts, pundits, Wall Street analysts and all the ‘talking heads.’ Alas, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) releases the April consumer price index [SEE HERE] and, shocker, prices on the critical consumer goods that matter most are dropping.
The rate of inflation dropped to a four-year low in April. Overall consumer prices increased 2.3% from a year earlier, down from 2.4% rise in March. However, inside the number’s things get better. Prices for groceries, food at home including eggs, used cars and gasoline all fell.
Meats, poultry and eggs dropped 1.6% overall. The price of eggs dropped 12.7% for the month. [SEE TABLE 2] Fuel Oil dropped 2.6%, propane dropped 4.7%. If it’s a food product grown and harvested in America, the price dropped. Remember that popular boycott by the Canadians on Orange Juice and citrus from Florida? Oranges dropped 3.7% in price for American consumers; Citrus overall -2.8%.
The items that are critical to a middle-class or working-class family, all dropped in price. This is exactly the same pricing outcome we experienced in 2017 that continued for two years. Energy prices drive farm prices and the total food supply chain; the energy prices have dropped substantially since President Trump took office.
Keep an eye on the “Relative Importance Index” [first column table, 2], because this is where the BLS statisticians will start to play with the data in order to stop President Trump from getting credit for lower prices. The BLS manipulating this index point is why CTH stopped using their data reports in 2022. Many people were perplexed at the end of 2021 when suddenly the inflation data no longer made sense. The BLS changed the priority weighting in order to assist Biden.
