Everyone knows that assorted food prices – most notably various meats such as beef and pork – have never been higher, but to Janet Yellen that’s just noise. After all, why worry about food inflation or the highest gas prices on this day in the year with the exception of 2008 of course, when one can just keep buying ever (hedonically) cheaper plasma TVs (although unclear where said TVs would be put with rent inflation also off the charts). So perhaps the thinking is that the average American can just hop on a plane and go to where the prices are lower? Not so fast.
According to the latest CPI report, the May surge in airfare prices was so dramatic and unexpected, that on a compounded annualized basis (CAGR), the May surge in airline fares was a whopping 97%: the highest since 1999, and the third highest ever.
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