US inflation jumps to 9.1% in June -- a new four-decade high

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The price of gasoline is down 12 cents in the last week in the Philadelphia five-county area, which is certainly good news to drivers.

But the rising costs of what seems like pretty much everything else are being felt by almost everyone.

The Consumer Price Index shows prices are 9.1% higher in June compared to a year ago -- a new four-decade high.

The prices of cereals and bakery products rose 13.8% over the last year- the largest one-year percent increase since 1975.

Dairy is up 13.5% and meats, poultry, fish and eggs rose 11.7% over the last year.

In the last 12 months, gas has increased 59.9%, the largest increase since 1980.

According to Moody's Analytics, the typical American household needed to spend $493 per month more in June to purchase the same goods and services they did a year ago.

Today's national average sits at $4.63. Here in the Philadelphia area, it's $4.75 for a gallon of regular, $4.63 in South Jersey and $4.54 in northern Delaware.

The price of oil is one of many things that affect how much we pay at the pump.

"So many factors affect the supply of gasoline so we need to take into account the drilling of the oil companies, refinery capacity, as well as natural disasters and geopolitical events," said Zheli He, an economist with Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. "It is time that consumers may have to tighten their budget and really try to think of ways to cut on their expenses. It might be a while until the inflation number might come down."

But she says, it's not all bad news.

"We do see other signs of a strong economy. Pretty low unemployment, and we do see robust consumer demand for goods and services as people start to spend less time at home and go out more," said He.

The cost of a new car is up 11.4%.

"Inventory is still obviously still tight, probably looking around down 15 to 20% so far in 2022 vs. 2021, but that's due to supply problems or issues than demand," said Kevin Mazzucola, executive director of the Auto Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia.

With the Federal Reserve poised to raise interest rates, Austin Duca, owner of Main Line Mortgage, emphasized that mortgage rates aren't directly correlated, but that they will likely continue rising, just slower than before.

"The demand is still there for people to buy homes. And the rates may be a little higher, your buying power might be a little lower, but keep in mind this is probably not your forever rate," said Duca. "We go through these two to three-year cycles so you will be able to refinance in two to three years."

According to Moody's Analytics, the typical American household needed to spend $493 per month more in June to purchase the same goods and services they did a year ago.

"I'd like to see the prices drop. I'd like to see the economy get back to (if this is possible) pre-2020 economy," said Keith Martin of Wynnefield.

Stocks ended another shaky day lower on Wall Street Wednesday after a highly anticipated report on inflation turned out to be even worse than expected.

The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq fell. Stocks took a few U-turns through the day, as has become the norm on Wall Street this tumultuous year. They were following the lead of Treasury yields in the bond market, which initially surged on expectations the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates drastically to slow the nation's skyrocketing inflation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.