According to economists, inflation is now costing the average American household an additional $296.45 in expenses each month as food and fuel costs increase and stretch budgets.
Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics, looked over the numbers after the most recent Labor Department data reported consumer prices have jumped 7.9% last month.
He arrived at the shocking numbers after he compared the average US household spending last month to what would have been spent in 2018 and 2019 when inflation rates paced at 2.1%, the New York Post reported.
“Unfortunately, things will get worse before they get better. Higher energy prices in March are going to boost the [Consumer Price Index],” Sweet told The Post.
Consumer prices continue to rise even as the Biden Administration largely places blame on the supply chain disruptions and corporate greed that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, some economists argue it was the out-of-control government spending that has caused inflation to go higher.
And now that there is the Russia-Ukraine war, it is expected that gas prices will rise over the weekend– despite them already being at a record level.
Energy prices jumped to a staggering 25% in February, which was a significant rise when compared to the same month one year earlier.
The food index has also jumped 7.9% — with meal staples such as beef and chicken experiencing some of the sharpest upticks and the latest hit to the family budget was up from $276 in inflationary expenses just one month earlier.
The February spike has marked the highest annual rate of increase in consumer prices since 1982, prompting President Biden to warn Americans that they will face “costs” after he banned imports of Russian oil and gas as part of an economic crackdown in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
