What is it?
Inflation measures how expensive a set of good and services becomes over a time period; it typically measures the rate of a year.
What causes it?
Inflation is caused by prices rising, prices rise due to the increase in production costs, for example raw materials and wages. Also, surges in supply and demand for products and services can cause inflation to rise.
Current U.S. Inflation Rates
The annual inflation rate for the United States for October 2021 is 6.2%, that is a 30-year high; the highest since November 1990 in the United States. The next inflation update will be in early December; it will give the rate of inflation from November 2020 to November 2021.
U.S. Annual Inflation Rates (2011 to 2021)
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Ave. |
| 2021 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 6.2 | —- | —- | —- |
| 2020 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.2 |
| 2019 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 1.8 |
| 2018 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.4 |
| 2017 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| 2016 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.3 |
| 2015 | -0.1 | 0.0 | -0.1 | -0.2 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| 2014 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1.6 |
| 2013 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| 2012 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.1 |
| 2011 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
Now when you look at this chart, you can see that in 2020, for the first two months the rates were about normal; then all of sudden it dropped a 0.8% to 1.5% for the month of March. This would happen because of COVID-19 hitting the United States and forcing the economy to have to shut down. It then proceeded to drop 1.2% to 0.3% for the month of April. The rates would the stay under 1.5% for the rest of 2020.
When 2021 started, the first three months would be 1.4%, 1.7%, and 2.6%; but then as the economy is slowing opening back up, the rate for April of 2021, would jump a whopping 1.6% to make it 4.2%. To put that into perspective, that is the highest for any month from 2011 to 2021! From May to September, the rates would stay at a low of at least 5.0%. Now for October of 2021, it would reach the highest it has been since November of 1990; it would come in at a whopping 6.2%!
However for the rest of 2021, expect the rates to be at an all time high due to the holiday season coming up.
