Food and rent are going up, while gasoline prices and hotel rates are falling
by Rex Nutting
Market Watch
The things that we are still spending money on — food, rent, booze and video streaming — are going up in price as the coronavirus pandemic wears on. The things that we aren’t buying as much of — gasoline, clothing, transportation and hotel rooms — are going down in price.
And the government says there’s no inflation.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that the consumer price index fell 0.1% in May, driven by deep discounting on energy, car insurance, clothing and public-transportation prices. The so-called core rate of inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, also fell 0.1%; it marked the first time the core rate has fallen three months in a row.