SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — You don’t need the government to tell you life is getting more expensive; your eyes and your wallet have you covered for that, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics says inflation came in hotter than expected in April.
With the consumer price index at 3.8, up from 3.0, worrying economists, along with everyone else, want to keep their own money.
Economics professor Alan Gin from the Knauss School of Business at the University of San Diego says that after seeing the Producer Price Index inflation number hit 6%, he puts the US chances of a recession at 40%.
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“We’ve got weak job growth, so stagnation in the economy, but at the same time, we have inflation, caused initially by an increase in tariffs. But now the conflict in Iran has driven up the prices for oil, which has driven up the prices for gas and diesel, which has driven up the price for the whole economy,” said Professor Gin.
“The numbers are the highest they have been at since 2022 and if you remember that we had inflation hit 9%.”
The most obvious price increases have been at the gas pump, but Professor Gin flagged local laundry mats as another example of high energy prices.
College students say they are watching their budgets more closely now than ever before.
“Maybe I don’t need to buy all the name-brand things and all the most expensive stuff,” said college student Jazzlyn Islas. “Just being smarter in ways, I didn’t realize I could save money.”
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Professor Gin worries the new Federal Reserve Chairman could act irrationally and drive inflation higher if he is pushed by the president to drop interest rates, with the inflation alarm already ringing.
“They shouldn’t drop interest rates with how high the interest rates are right now. Whether or not they will be able to rest with the political pressure is the question,” said Professor Gin.