Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Massaging the Inflation News

They do their damndest to make Bai-Den look semi-respectable.

...For the year, headline PPI [Producer Price Index] rose 6.2%, the lowest annual level since March 2021 and down considerably from the 10% annual increase in 2021....

Uh-huh.  "Lowest annual level........down from 10%......"

So Bai-Den PPI inflation for '21 and '22 totals 16.2%!!  Which, we remind you, means the dollar was devalued by a full sixth in only two years of Biden.

But in CNBC's writing, that would be "only one-sixth." 

By the way, PPI is 'wholesale' or 'OEM' pricing and is usually a few to several months prior to seeing the effect at the retail outlets.  So be prepared for at least another 6++% hit to your wallet over the next several months.

But there's more!!!

...Retail sales fell 1.1% in December, slightly more than the 1% forecast. Those numbers are not adjusted for inflation, so the latest reading reflects both receding inflation and tepid consumer demand during the holiday shopping season....

Not inflation-adjusted, eh? 

That means that retail sales were really off by 7% from December '22.  Why?  Because when you DO factor inflation of 6.2%, there were seven+++percent fewer goods sold.

That's a very serious drop in consumer purchases, pal.



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