Here is the inflation breakdown for November 2024 – in one graph

Consumers saw inflation rise slightly in November as price increases in categories such as groceries, gasoline and new cars outweighed slowdowns in other categories, such as shelter, during the month.

The consumer price indexa key inflation gauge, rose 2.7% last month from November 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. The annual interest rate rose from 2.6% in October.

“I don’t see any acceleration” in inflation, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s. “But I think it’s persistently too strong.”

“It’s not like there’s a smoking gun that says, ‘This is the problem,’” Zandi said. “It has quite a wide base, a little on the high side everywhere.”

That said, there are reasons for optimism, according to economists.

Indeed, consumers can take “comfort” from the fact that economic trends supporting inflation, such as moderating wage growth in the labor market, remain positive, Zandi said.

“We still think we are on the broad path of disinflation,” despite the appearance of an “upturn in inflation,” said Joe Seydl, a senior market economist at JP Morgan Private Bank.

Inflation has withdrawn significant from the pandemic-era peak of 9.1% in June 2022.

The US Federal Reserve aims for a long-term inflation target of around 2%. The central bank uses a similar but different inflation gauge than the CPI, known as the personal consumption expenditure price index, or PCE.

“Most of this progress is now behind us and inflation may remain stubbornly near current levels for some time,” Rick Rieder, head of BlackRock’s global allocation investment team, wrote in a note on Wednesday.

While price pressures have generally eased across the U.S. economy, there have been some headwinds in recent months.

Inflation in the food sector has risen significantly, for example from 0.1% monthly in October to 0.5% in November. For context, a consistent CPI value of around 0.2% per month would be generally in line with target inflation, economists said.

Egg prices are up about 8% this month alone and are up 38% in the past year, according to CPI data.

“We saw a recovery in food prices,” Zandi said. “Part of that is bird flu: egg prices remain very high.”

Food prices are generally volatile, so a month of high food inflation rates should not raise alarm bells, Zandi says. However, it will be an important category to watch as groceries are “probably the most important” to the majority of households relative to price, he said.

In addition, categories such as transportation, health care and shelter have been sticking points, Seydl said.

Vehicle prices and airline tickets are major components of the transportation category. However, their recent bouts of inflation are likely to be short-lived, Seydl said.

More from Personal Finance:
Economists have “really got it wrong” about the recession
Trump’s tariffs would likely impose costs on consumers
Why the US labor market is currently stagnant

According to CPI data, new vehicle prices rose 0.6% from October to November. Car insurance prices rose by just 0.1% over the period, but have increased by 13% over the year.

In 2021, car prices rose due to a shortage of semiconductors essential for their production. This led to a serious car shortage and high inflation. Later, prices fell as dealers rebuilt their inventories. Now, some price volatility is normal as the market returns to equilibrium, Seydl said.

Car prices are included in the car insurance: When prices are high, insurers’ costs for replacing vehicles after a car accident are also much higher. Insurers also typically need regulatory approval to increase consumer premiums, which takes time.

Airline prices, similar to those of cars, “are also finding a bottom,” Seydl said. Actual rates are approx where they were according to CPI data before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“From 2019 to today, we haven’t really had airfare inflation,” Seydl said. “We’ve just seen a lot of volatility.”

Labor costs are the main input to health care inflation, he said.

While wage growth has generally slowed across much of the economy—generally reducing the likelihood that companies will raise prices to compensate for labor—the health care sector continues to experience labor shortages, causing price strength to be “quite resilient,” says Seydl.

Medical care prices rose 0.4% from October to November and 4% over the year.

As the largest CPI component, housing construction also continues to support headline inflation rates. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shelter was responsible for 40% of the monthly CPI increase.

However, it has dropped significantly. The shelter index rose 4.7% over the past year, the smallest 12-month increase since February 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Rent inflation and owner equivalent rent – ​​an estimate of the rent a homeowner could charge for their property – saw the smallest one-month increase since July 2021 and April 2021, respectively.