The endless escalator

Inflation is that one unwanted guest that just won’t leave: headline inflation (CPI) in March rose to 3.5% annually, up from 3.2% the month before.

Investors didn’t love the news initially as it pushed expectations of rate cuts further out, but markets have short memories — the S&P 500 is now actually flat this week, thanks to a better day (+0.7%) yesterday.

On a personal level, though, you might be wondering: what’s still going up in price?

The bad news: The cost of buying a new car hasn’t changed much… but insuring it has. Indeed, auto insurance prices have gone nuts — rising more than 22% per the latest release. Insurers are shifting the blame onto the increasing cost of “repairing and replacing cars”, which has also risen (some 12%), though not quite to the same extent.

The other bad news: Your household bills are likely still stubbornly climbing, with rent, housing, and electricity costs all up ~5-6% in the last year.

The good news: If you’d rather fly than drive, it's a different story. Indeed, if you catch a plane across the country and rent a car on arrival, you should pay less than a year ago for both the flight (down 7%) and the rental car (down 9%). The cost of eating at home is only up 1% in the last year, and buying a massive TV has never been cheaper... which is perhaps why no-one goes to the movies anymore.