Reporting yearly inflation every month is... confusing at best.
US annual inflation declines to 7.7% in October vs. 7.9% expected
411–420 of 566 posts
Re: US annual inflation declines to 7.7% in October vs. 7.9% expected
#412MoM inflation is still unfortunately 0.4% which is about 5% annualized. I think it's unfortunate that reporting focuses around yearly inflation which isn't really useful for talking about inflation in the moment.
5% is not that much higher than historic averages. 1990 had 5.4% inflation, and 2008 close to 4%.
Worse than 2008, got it.
Re: US annual inflation declines to 7.7% in October vs. 7.9% expected
#413Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wish the political people would go away from HN. The forum is becoming a rough spot.
Discourse on reddit has eroded from brigading and censorship and so this is the result.
Yah, I suppose. It isn't like there isn't censorship on HN tho. Probably more extreme than Reddit in a lot of cases.
Re: US annual inflation declines to 7.7% in October vs. 7.9% expected
#414Re: US annual inflation declines to 7.7% in October vs. 7.9% expected
#415Earlier quoted context omitted.
This isn't right. It could in fact mean prices are going down. Had we just reported a month on month -0.4% instead of 0.4%, the yoy rate would have been reported as 6.9%. A headline of 6.9% would mean prices are actually going down.
Anything positive YoY means prices have gone up overall over the last year. For prices to have gone down in general over the last year, the YoY would have to be negative. A headline of 6.9% would mean prices have gone up.
You're just talking about different time frames. Yearly inflation can be positive and prices can also be lower than they were last month. Ergo prices are going down but inflation still positive.
Re: US annual inflation declines to 7.7% in October vs. 7.9% expected
#416Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree that that would be a good thing, but it won't lower consumer prices.
It would create more competition, and put more money into people’s pockets.
Putting more money in people's pockets raises inflation, because they're willing to pay higher prices
Re: US annual inflation declines to 7.7% in October vs. 7.9% expected
#417Inflation in and of itself isn't the problem per se. It's income(s) being able to keep pace, or more often than not keep pace.
Working citizens - as well as those on public assistance? - have been losing ground to inflation for decades.
The bottom line: In the eyes of bread winners this is old news, and does nothing (again) to mitigate their discomfort and pain. From a sociopolitical POV this is not sustainable.
Re: US annual inflation declines to 7.7% in October vs. 7.9% expected
#418Earlier quoted context omitted.
I expect the number of car sales in the US to go down significantly like it has in Europe. Interest rates are one major factor, but another is the electric transition. Anecdotally I know quite a few people that aren't buying new vehicles right now. They're the kind of people that buy a new car every 10 years or so, and are delaying their purchase or buying used. They realize it's a bad idea to buy a new gas car but a…
Why is it a bad idea to buy a new gas car? ExxonMobil is not going to stop pumping oil out of the ground.
My reasons: in 10 years time most local gas stations will be closed, 95% of the demand for used cars will be for electrics and 97% of the supply will be gasoline so the car will only have its scrap metal value.
But most people aren't thinking that far ahead. They just know I can recharge my car for $10 but it costs them $100 to refill theirs. They know that electricity prices are a lot more stable than gas prices.
Re: US annual inflation declines to 7.7% in October vs. 7.9% expected
#419Earlier quoted context omitted.
I expect the number of car sales in the US to go down significantly like it has in Europe. Interest rates are one major factor, but another is the electric transition. Anecdotally I know quite a few people that aren't buying new vehicles right now. They're the kind of people that buy a new car every 10 years or so, and are delaying their purchase or buying used. They realize it's a bad idea to buy a new gas car but a…
Why is it a bad idea to buy a new gas car? ExxonMobil is not going to stop pumping oil out of the ground.
Gas exploration is way down. No gas production won't stop, but supply growth seems to be completely stalled while demand is not due to developing countries continuing to get richer. Gas will likely continue to be expensive as we transition away from fossil fuels.
Re: US annual inflation declines to 7.7% in October vs. 7.9% expected
#420Reminds me of Nixon's "the rate of increase of inflation is going down" comment and the associated quip that it was "the first time a sitting president used the third derivative to advance his case for reelection."
This isn't that. The rate of inflation is going down, not the rate of increase of inflation. 8.2% in September, 7.7% now. The second derivative of prices, not the third.
I'm aware of that, it just reminded me of that incident and I thought others would find it funny too is all.