According to government reports, inflation may make sticking to a budget and avoiding or getting out of personal debt may be getting more difficult for some American households right now.
The United States Department of Labor reports that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), defined by that agency as “A measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services,†increased 0.4 percent in November.
A large portion of the CPI increase is the result of rising energy prices. Energy prices rose at a rate of 4.1 percent in November following a relatively small increase of 1.5 percent in October. Last month’s increase represents the fourth consecutive rise in the energy index and the largest increase since August when it stood at 4.6 percent. Fuel oil and gasoline saw the largest increases with gasoline at 6.4 percent and fuel oil at 9 percent. The total increase in energy prices over the last year stands at 7.4 percent.
An increase of 0.1 percent overall was seen in the food category of the CPI with “food eaten away from home†accounting for that change. Food at home saw no increase. All items minus energy and food remained unchanged following a .2 percent increase in October.
The CPI is used by government in the adjustment of dollar value as well as the income payments made to some consumers and the eligibility income levels for recipients of various social services.
