Inflation people everywhere are say it
is one of their top concerns right now.
The good news, we might be seeing the
early signs of prices going back down.
Inflation actually improved a little
bit this month, even if it doesn't
feel like it prices rose 8.3%.
That's slightly lower than last
month when we saw costs go up.
8 1/2%. In essence,
going from an 8 1/2 percent annual
rate to an 8.3% annual rate is like
telling someone who's sick.
Well, your temperature is
gone from 105 to 104.7.
Yeah, help, but not much of a help, right?
The upside, she thinks that
inflation peaked and a more sizable
improvement could be coming soon.
Well, it's nice to see that
small improvement in inflation.
The reality, though,
price jumps still remain at
some of the highest levels that
they've been in for decades,
and people everywhere say
you know what they can't.
Imagine that things are costing this much.
When
I go into the grocery store,
it's sticker shock.
Jackie say and Dennis
Stevenson are cutting back.
I used to try to buy one month's
worth of groceries, but not anymore.
The retired Maryland couple
recently turned to food banks.
It's not like it used to be in
April prices for food at home were
up more than 10% from a year ago.
With bacon up almost 18% and eggs 22%.
In addition to rising
gasoline and energy prices,
the latest numbers show the cost of
shelter and housing was up more than 5%.
Which may be a low estimate
according to bankrate.com Chief
financial analyst Greg McBride.
The reality of it is any tenant that
has renewed a lease in recent months.
They've likely seen a much
bigger than 5% increase in rent.
How long are we going to be
seeing price increases like this?
I think we're easily in this for
another 12 months, January 1st.
We raise prices. How much close to 10%?
Bobby Javaheri doesn't see
prices coming down anytime soon.
You think there's more back there?
His company Yedi houseware.
Sciences makes kitchen supplies in China,
where COVID lockdowns are
slowing production and rising.
Oil prices are increasing costs.
You need oil to make plastic, which
also makes air fryers.
The cost of air fryers have gone up 5%
because of volatility in oil prices.
How does the wheat crop look?
Looks pretty healthy to
me. On Wednesday, President Biden blamed
the war in Ukraine for grain shortages.
Ukraine was the world's largest producer
of wheat and corn inflation is now
driven by a number of global events.
And McBride says the US government
can only do so much to stop it.
Well, the Federal Reserve raised
interest rates to try and slow the
economy down and get inflation back
under control that address that
that addresses the demand side.
Experts say it does not
fix the supply chain side.
That requires things like the war in
Ukraine and the pandemic to subside.
Well, this probably doesn't shock
drivers much, but gas prices have
seen some of the highest jumps.
The average gallon of gas in
the South cost nearly 45% more
than this time last year.
It gets a little more frustrating
when you look at the chart.
Prices have taken us on a roller
coaster ride for the past four months.
They were down then up,
then back down.
And of course now they're up again.
It is part of high volatility
in the market right now.
The economy has tons of variables
like the war in Ukraine that has
contributed to the fluctuation.
Global demand has been going up
for crude oil and now at the
same time we're taking Russia's
oil out of the global market.
And there's nothing to replace it.
And that's why the price
of oil has been going up.
Well, one expert says we should
be bracing for the long haul.
The high prices are here to stay.
The thing that you got to wrap
your head around is this is
what gas prices are going to
be for the foreseeable future.
There's there's not much
that we can do about it.
He says expect the high prices
through the end of the year.
Well overall inflation trends show
some cooling off of food costs
actually went up even more last month.
The Consumer Price Index says
grocery costs went up about 11%.
That's the highest since 1980.
Some of the products seeing the
largest hikes include milk,
eggs, and ground meat.
Well renters,
they have it pretty rough right now as well.
If you're looking to lease an apartment,
you're finding really high prices,
apartmentlist.com says.
The median cost for a one bedroom apartment
in Greensboro is more than 1100 bucks now.
Some of that comes from inflation.
Another part of that stems from a
domino effect in the housing market.
It is hard to buy a home right now.
Potential buyers sometimes opt to
stay in their rental unit that
limits supply and drives up prices.
Fortunately,
an expert thinks that we could be.
Seeing some relief here soon too.
So just
as we're expecting home prices to slow,
we are also expecting rent growth to slow,
but to remain faster than what
we would typically experience.
Well, she expects rental rates
to grow around 7% this year.
That's higher than average,
but it is lower than last year.
While homeowners have a price
increase coming their way too.
And that comes in the form of insurance.
The Department of Insurance wanted
to pass a 24% premium hike.
It did not pass.
The insurance Commissioner
settled on an 8% increase.
Well, the new rates kick in in June 1st.
That's right, June 1st of this year again.
The state average is about 8%
folks living near the coast with
a greater chance of storm damage,
will likely see more like a 10% increase.
Folks here in the Triad will
likely see a 6% increase on
their homeowners insurance.
Now they're about to get hit twice
because the rate increase starts
at the beginning of the month.
Supply chain issues drive up building costs.
Well,
so now you need more insurance on your home.
An insurance expert explains what to expect.
So you're if your homeowners policy
was for 200,000 and now it would
take $250,000 to ensure your home.
So now the amount of insurance
has went up to 250,000,
which is approximately a 20% rate increase.
Plus the rate increase on
top of that of another 6%,
so it's going to feel a little bit
more substantial to your viewers.
If you haven't gotten them already,
expect 2 letters from your insurance
company explaining those increases well.
You got your house or your apartment.
Now you need to pay for utilities.
Electric costs are up nearly 11%.
Natural gas prices jumped about
23%, apartmentlist.com says,
for a 915 square foot apt.
A utility bill usually
comes out to about $215.
Items like gas, water,
garbage that cost you about 150 on average.
Then basic cable Internet package is about.
$65 this number fluctuates based
on your space and the usage.
We're also entering that time of year when
temperatures rise and people are turning
on their AC that drives up costs as well.
Duke Energy says set your thermostat
to the highest comfortable setting.
Each degree you go up can
save you 5% on your bill.
Then of course you have to factor in taxes.
The state income tax though sits at 5.25%.
It's a flat rate that means everyone pays
the rate regardless of what they make.
That number is going to drop
over the next few years.
The state passed a budget for the
first time in years last November,
and it includes an income tax
cut over the next six years.
So a little good bit of relief there.
It is hard to pinpoint one exact
number for how much it costs to live in
Greensboro right now with the raising rates.
It really varies person to person.
The one thing we can say with certainty
it's gotten a whole lot more expensive,
hasn't it?
No one's quite sure when or if all of the
prices were returned to normal levels.
We'll just have to wait it out
and see Wfmy News 2 at 6 is next.