Food Inflation: The Price Spikes of Beef, Coffee, Eggs, and Dairy
by Wolf Richter • Oct 24, 2025 • 7 Comments
CPI for food at home has surged by 30% since January 2020. Food prices are nothing to be trifled with.By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
Food Inflation: The Price Spikes of Beef, Coffee, Eggs, and Dairy | Wolf Street
CPI solves for spikes by substituting lower cuts of beef, such as ground beef, or chicken. They automatically assume the consumer will choose an item with a smaller inflation rate. Oil and gas are about the only categories where substitutes aren't available.
Massive Outlier in Owner’s Equivalent of Rent Pushed Down CPI, Core CPI, Core Services CPI: Something Went Awry at the BLS
by Wolf Richter • Oct 24, 2025 • 57 Comments
OER weighs 26% of CPI, 33% of core CPI, 44% of core services CPI. It moves the needle. CPI inflation would have been a lot hotter without this outlier situation.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
Massive Outlier in Owner’s Equivalent of Rent Pushed Down CPI, Core CPI, Core Services CPI: Something Went Awry at the BLS | Wolf Street
I don't think OER actually includes anything other than a response by owner occupants to a BLS survey asking what they would charge for rent. They don't include expenses, such as HOA fees and real estate taxes, which are considered payment for services, such as common grounds maintenance, schools, roads, and so on. In the past, OER has consistently been about 3 percentage points below housing inflation and rents. |
