Inflation is running wild!

U.S. consumer prices rose in December, bolstering expectations that long-weak inflation is set to gain strength in the new year….Prices rose 0.3% in December when excluding the often-volatile categories of food and energy, the largest increase for so-called core prices since January 2017. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted core prices would rise a more modest 0.2% versus November.

Needless to say—except that I guess I need to say it—what really matters is the inflation rate compared to the previous year, not the previous month. Here it is for core CPI:

Yes, that tiny blip at the end is the thing that’s “bolstering expectations” that inflation is going up. FFS. Can we please stop this nonsense?

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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