Distinct trends forming among CPI measures. Descending from a June peak of 9.0 percent, the headline Consumer Price Index rose by a year-over-year rate of 8.2 percent in September. Much of this recent downshift has been driven by declining gasoline prices, a trend that could prove temporary. The war in Ukraine, OPEC production cutbacks and a series of domestic maintenance issues are limiting oil supplies, while the ability to pull from the Strategic Oil Reserve may soon close as stockpiles dwindle. At the same time, other consumer costs are climbing faster. Core CPI, which omits the energy category along with food, jumped 6.6 percent over the past 12 months, a 40-year high. The ascending costs for services, including transportation and medical care, drove much of this increase. While the recent downturn in gas prices was undoubtedly helpful to consumers, elevated inflation will continue until core pressures are tamped down

Home purchases and prices stay on the descent. In the wake of the Federal Reserve’s fifth interest rate hike so far this year, borrowing costs for houses have skyrocketed.

Federal Reserve enacts fifth rate hike of the year. Following accelerated core CPI inflation and ongoing above-average hiring last month, the Federal Reserve raised the overnight lending rate 75 basis points at its September meeting. This is the third consecutive rate hike of this magnitude, extending the target range of the federal funds rate above ...

Headline and core inflation trend in opposite directions. In August, the headline Consumer Price Index recorded a year-over-year increase of 8.3 percent, slightly below the 8.5 percent rise recorded the month prior. The core CPI measure, excluding food and energy, advanced at a faster pace, however, ascending 6.3 percent year-overyear in August compared to 5.9 percent in July. This dichotomy is due to the influence of a sharp drop in gasoline prices on the headline measure. The greater expenses associated with food, housing, medical care and other necessities underscores the persistence of the current inflation pressures stemming from the ongoing global logistics challenges and broad-based shortage of labor.

Scant Suburban Availability and Downtown Leasing Revival Support West Coast’s Lowest Vacancy Rate

Home Listings Notch 20-Month High, yet Remain Just Half of the Long-Term Average

Why Debt is More Expensive Right Now

Housing Market Dynamics Indicate Longer-Term Sector Tailwinds

Mortgage Rate Surge Thwarts Aff ordability; Apartments Off er Relief from Housing Shortage

Inflation trend may be turning corner. The headline Consumer Price Index in July was up 8.5 percent compared to a year prior, a deceleration from the 9.1 percent year-over-year jump recorded in June. This slowdown was driven predominantly by a month-over month decline in energy prices, led by a 7.7 percent drop in the gas price component of the index.

Sequence of rate hikes decay housing affordability.

Growth in GDP returns for the third quarter. Real gross domestic product increased by a 2.6 percent annualized rate in the third quarter, reversing the declines posted in the first half of the year. This turnaround was predominantly driven by improved net external trade, as exports rose 14.4 percent and imports fell 6.9 percent, a dynamic that is ...

High inflation persists, but pressure may ease. The Consumer Price Index advanced 9.1 percent year-over-year in June, its fastest pace since November 1981. Accelerated inflation was predominantly driven by higher energy and food prices.

Possible recession predictor lit up this month. In early July, the spread between the two-year and 10-year treasuries inverted, with the yield on the shorter-term instrument inching above that of the long-term note