InflationData.com

Your Place in Cyber Space for Inflation Data

CPI Index

CPIWidget-June25

Today’s Featured Post

FED’s Semiannual Monetary Policy Report

FED Dot Plot March 2025

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered his semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress on June 24th and to the Senate Banking Committee on June 25th. Powell noted that U.S. real GDP expanded roughly 2.5% over the past year, supported by resilient consumer spending and a still-solid labor market. Payroll growth averaged about 124,000 jobs per month in the first five months of 2025—slower than the pace seen during the post-pandemic boom but still consistent with a gradually cooling … [Read More...]

Latest Articles

What Is the Trimmed Mean CPI and What Is It Good For?

Trimmed Mean CPI

The Trimmed Mean CPI is a type of underlying or “core” inflation measure that systematically removes extreme price changes—both high and low—from the calculation. It was developed and is maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

May 2025 Inflation Up Slightly

Annual Inflation Rate 2010 - May 2025a

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its May 2025 Inflation report on June 11th, 2025. The report showed that Annual Inflation was up from 2.3% in April to 2.4% in May.

The Truth About Why Gold Is Surging

Daily gold chart as of May 2025

For thousands of years, gold (and to a lesser extent silver), has been both a medium of exchange and a method of preserving wealth over time. In 2024 and 2025, gold prices have been surging, driven by a combination of central bank buying, shifts away from U.S. dollar dominance, and a fear of financial exclusion, i.e., “debanking”. Let’s examine some of these trends and the evolving narrative surrounding gold, Central Banks, and cryptocurrencies.

Record-Breaking Price Momentum

According to the World Gold Council, during the first quarter of 2025, the London PM price of gold averaged US$ $2,860 per ounce, representing a 38 percent annual increase and setting new quarterly records. On May 30, 2025, gold was $3,310 in New York, down from the $3,500 peak on April 22nd.

The primary drivers have been geopolitical uncertainty, including the U.S.–China tariff dispute, the Russia-Ukraine war, Iran, and even an India-Pakistan skirmish. Which have all amplified risk premiums on equities and fueled demand for safe-haven assets. Also, increased inflationary expectations and dovish U.S. Federal Reserve signals have weakened the dollar index, further propelling gold’s dollar-denominated price upward.

April Inflation Down Slightly

Annual Inflation Rate 2010- Apr 2025

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its April 2025 Inflation report on May 13th, 2025. The report showed that Annual Inflation was down from 2.4% in March to to 2.3% in April.

Calculated to two digits, it was  2.39% in March and 2.31% in April. Although this month’s numbers look good, there is a distinct possibility that low inflation won’t last. (See this month’s MIP).

April’s Inflation Prediction:

At 2.31%, April inflation numbers came in between last month’s “likely low” and “extreme low” projections.

FED Holds Steady at May Meeting

FED Funds Rate 5-2025

On May 7, 2025, the Federal Open Market Committee held the FED funds target rate at 4.25% to 4.50%, a level unchanged since December 2024. In his statement, Chairman Jerome Powell said that, while economic growth remains solid, uncertainty has risen markedly amid evolving trade policies and global supply-chain strains saying, “If the large increases in tariffs that have been announced are sustained, they’re likely to generate a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth and an increase in unemployment.” Chair Jerome Powell underscored at the post-meeting press conference that the current policy stance is “in a good place” but that the Fed will “await further clarity” before altering rates.

Inflation Adjusted Gasoline Prices

Inflation Adj Gasoline Prices June 2022

Without looking at inflation-adjusted prices it is difficult to see where gasoline prices actually stand. Back in 1918 gasoline was $0.25 a gallon and by 1932 prices had fallen to 18 cents a gallon! But as we all know over the last 100 years the purchasing power of the dollar has fallen drastically so in order to get the true picture we can’t just say that the lowest price of gas was 18 cents per gallon, we need to adjust the price for inflation. When adjusting for inflation there are two prices… the first is called the “nominal price” and that is the actual price you would have paid for gas at the pump. The key price though is the inflation-adjusted price which calculates what the price would have been if we were spending current dollars on a specific date. In this case, we are basing our calculations on the value of a dollar in January 2020.

Inflation Rate of Electricity Prices

Inflation Adjusted Electricity Prices

Electricity Price Inflation Residential electricity prices in the U.S. have risen from an average of 7.83 cents per kilowatthour in 1990 to an average of 11.44 cents per kwh in 2010. This is a 46% increase in 20 years and sounds like a lot but as you can see from the chart below for many years[Read More…]

Inflation Adjusted NYSE Index

Inflation adjusted NYSE Stocks 2013

Source: inflationdata.com | NYSE Index Inflation Commentary To Print this Chart: When Printer dialog box appears be sure to switch to Landscape mode Note: Please feel free to link to this page but not to the image itself as the image may be renamed (or deleted) when it is updated but the page URL will[Read More…]

Inflation Adjusted Natural Gas Prices

Inflation Adjusted Natural Gas Chart

By looking at the Inflation-adjusted natural gas prices we are better able to determine the trend and how prices actually compare to previous times. Speaking of natural gas prices… why are residential natural gas prices so cyclical? And why are they higher when the least amount is being used i.e. in the Summer?

Inflation Adjusted Housing Prices

Inflation Adjusted Home Prices

Inflation Adjusted Real Estate Prices-  Lets take a look at the idea that housing prices always go up. Of course, each neighborhood is different, so some neighborhoods might be going down while a few miles away housing prices are skyrocketing but by looking at the nationwide average we can get a better picture of the overall trend. The St. Louis Federal Reserve publishes the following chart that shows the S&P/Case Shiller National Home Price Index and by adjusting those prices for inflation we can get a better picture of how real estate prices really act. Is a home a good investment or not?

Inflation Adjusted Bonds

Inflation Indexed Bonds

Inflation Indexed Bonds Performance- U.S. Treasury Inflation indexed bonds are supposed to protect you from the ravages of inflation while providing a safe and decent rate of return on your money. Obviously, since safety is generally inversely proportional to risk, if  inflation indexed bonds are very safe you would expect the rate of return to be[Read More…]

InflationData.com and its editors have been featured