Energy prices rise 20%, gasoline 37% as inflation accelerates again

Higher energy costs are feeding through the economy as inflation accelerates again. Core inflation, which had eased during the summer, has picked up over the past three months.

In a Fox Business interview on November 10, macroeconomic analyst Kevin Hassett called the latest inflation figures a “disappointing report.” He said the effects of rising energy prices were becoming clear in the data.

Hassett said core inflation had fallen to an annualized rate of 1.5% at one point during the summer, before price increases accelerated over the past three months.

He said the energy component of the consumer price index was up 20% year over year, while gasoline prices had risen 37%. Higher energy costs were increasingly passing through to other prices, he said.

Hassett said falling drug prices and other favorable developments had helped contain inflation earlier in the year. Those benefits were now being offset by the effects of higher energy costs spreading through the economy, he said.