According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, some cities and states are fighting the ongoing inflationary crisis in the US better than others.
It was announced on Thursday that inflation in the United States eased last month, a sign that the price hikes Americans have hammered are waning as the economy slows and consumers become more cautious.
Despite the good news, figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that some cities are still considered hotbeds of inflation.
In October, Phoenix reported inflation of 12.1 percent on certain goods. That’s 0.9 percent less than the city’s record high of 13 percent, reported earlier this year.
Inflation is believed to hit the area the hardest, as Phoenix is also one of the fastest-growing places in the country — meaning food, gas, and housing can’t keep up.
New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the cities where inflation is hitting the hardest
According to Redfin, the average price of a home in Phoenix in September was nine percent higher than the same time last year.
Jim Rounds, an economist and policy analyst at Rounds Consulting, said: 12News on the Arizona struggle: “These are unusual times and unusual circumstances.
“If the economy is messed up and there’s a lot to fix, it just takes longer to fix it. Arizona and the greater Phoenix area are just unique because we’re also growing strongly, and that puts extra pressure on it.”
Other cities experiencing high inflation are Atlanta, where prices have increased by 10.7 percent, and Miami, where prices have increased by 10.1 percent.
Overall, the Republican-led states of Georgia and Florida have seen prices rise 8.3 percent.
That’s the same number seen in South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Heading west, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana are seeing slightly higher inflation, at 8.4 percent reported.
In the north, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware reported rates of 6.8 percent, below the national average.
The consumer price index rose 7.7 percent in October from a year ago, marking the fourth consecutive month of declines from the 40-year high of 9.2 percent reached in June.
Core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy prices, fell to 6.3 percent year-on-year, after hitting a four-decade high of 6.6 percent in September.
The numbers were all lower than economists had expected and Wall Street reacted positively, with the Dow Jones Industrial average gaining 750 points or 2.31 percent on opening and rising to 33,264.
Annual inflation in the US remained stubbornly high at 7.7 percent last month, but fell for the fourth straight month
With mortgage rates rising and house prices falling, the US housing market has cooled considerably since the days of the pandemic. The sales prices of the houses in October are not yet in, as the mortgage interest rate has risen above 7% in a few weeks
Gasoline prices rose again in October, after several months of declines since the June peak
“Today’s October CPI value is a good sign for consumers who have struggled in recent months to absorb continued inflation pressures on household budgets,” said Scott Brave, chief of economic analysis at decision intelligence firm Morning Consult.
Brave added that the latest report, along with other recent data, “suggests that households have received a welcome reprieve from the sting of inflation last month.”
Used car prices, which skyrocketed last year as a shortage of computer chips sharply reduced the availability of new cars, fell 2.4 percent from September to October.
And prices for energy services fell, thanks to a 4.6 percent monthly price drop from natural gas companies, as natural gas prices softened from their recent spikes.
However, gasoline prices rose 4 percent from September to October, reversing three consecutive months of monthly declines.
The dollar fell across the board for the second day in a row on Friday as investors favored riskier currencies after signs of US inflation cooling, boosting the reason for the Federal Reserve to ease its steep rate hikes.
The dollar’s weakness on Friday was an extension of the move that started after Thursday’s data showed U.S. consumer inflation rose 7.7 percent year-on-year in October, its lowest pace since January and below forecasts at 8 percent. .
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar fell about 3.8 percent in two sessions, setting the pace for its biggest two-day percentage loss since March 2009.
The US currency’s long rally over the past two years had drawn a large number of dollar bulls, leading to overcrowded positioning and Thursday’s data left many of them looking for a quick exit, strategists said.
“It’s not just short-term trend followers, momentum players that need to get out of their positions, but some long-term dollar structural positions need to be settled,” said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York.
The dollar was 1.7 percent lower against the Japanese yen at 138.55 yen, while the euro gained 1.46 percent against the US unit to $1,036.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell can be seen above. Many economists warn that the Fed is likely to trigger a recession next year by continuing to tighten lending aggressively
“The dollar is one of those markets that is extremely overvalued — there’s a good chance we’ve seen the spike,” Jim Cielinski, global head of fixed income at Janus Henderson Investors, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum Friday.
Still, some strategists warned that dollar bears remain vulnerable to a possible near-term recovery.
“Yes, more people have become convinced that the dollar has peaked, but the move has been so sharp that I am warning people not to go after it,” Bannockburn’s Chandler said.
The dollar found little support Friday in research data showing that US consumer confidence fell in November amid ongoing concerns about inflation and higher borrowing costs.
The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars rose 1.4 percent and 1.6 percent respectively against the greenback.
Investors’ risk appetite received an additional boost from Chinese health authorities easing some of the country’s strict COVID-19 restrictions, including shortening quarantine times for close contact with cases and inbound travelers.
Sterling, meanwhile, rose 1.22 percent against the dollar to $1.1853 after UK data showed the economy did not contract as much as expected in the three months to September, although it is still entering a prolonged recession.
The dollar was 2.4 percent lower against the Swiss franc at 0.94025 francs after Swiss National Bank chairman Thomas Jordan said on Friday the bank was willing to take “all necessary measures” to curb inflation. to the target of 0-2%.
Cryptocurrencies continued to be under pressure from the ongoing turmoil in the crypto world following the fall of the FTX stock exchange. FTX’s native token, FTT, last fell 26.7 percent to $2,731, bringing the month’s loss to nearly 90 percent.
Bitcoin fell 4.6 percent to $16,747.
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