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A Source of Pressure on US Core CPI
Upward pressure on US consumer prices is stemming from two elements. Rents and medical services. Due to the differences the composition of the basket of goods and services that are used, the core personal consumption deflator, which the Fed targets, typically lags behind core CPI. At is time of year, the concern tends to be on health care costs and premiums. Many US employees are given "open enrollment" when they can change their health care benefits. This Great Graphic comes from Kaiser Family Foundation's Employer Health Benefit Survey. It shows three five-year periods. The amber bar is the cumulative increase ... (full story)