LUDLOW, Mass. (WWLP) – Inflation leveled off to 3.7 percent in September compared to a year ago, extending a gradual slowdown in consumer prices.
Prices rose at the same rate as in August, on a year-over-year basis, signaling that while inflation is far lower than a year ago, but it’s still proving difficult to tame.
The Fed left rates unchanged in September, saying there had been progress in its fight against inflation. But after 12 consecutive monthly declines, inflation sped up again in July and August.
The increases were small, and there were reasons experts weren’t especially concerned about them. This latest report doesn’t make it clear what will happen next.
22News spoke to Brent Allen, local business owner in Ludlow about how inflation has impacted business and their customers, “It increases the materials costs for me, so fertilizer, wheat control prices have gone up and with that said, I have it pass on some of those expenses to my customers, it makes it harder for my customers to get a full program or getting certain services they had in the past.”
There are signs inflation is easing, but it’s not happening very fast and inflation is still well above the Fed’s stated goal of 2 percent per year. The Fed will meet two more times this year.
Its main rate is now in the range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent, the highest since the year 2000.
Melissa Torres is a reporter who has been a part of the 22News team since 2021. Follow Melissa on X @melissatorrestv and view her bio to see more of her work.
