15 Products and Services Most Impacted by Inflation

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Man looking at inflation
Karpova / Shutterstock.com

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Smartest Dollar.

Following months of rapid inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve recently announced its first federal funds rate increases in more than three years. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell followed this action with remarks several days later signaling that more rate increases are in store for 2022.

The Federal Reserve’s recent moves were noteworthy because the U.S. central bank has kept rates near zero for most of the last decade in efforts to boost economic growth following the Great Recession. But the recent spike in inflation prompted new thinking from the Fed. Some economic observers — including Powell — predicted last year that rising inflation would be transitory, leveling out as the COVID-19 pandemic abated and global supply chains recovered. But it now appears that inflation is here for the foreseeable future, and the Federal Reserve hopes to rein it in.

The Federal Reserve typically aims for a target annual inflation rate of 2%, believing that this figure best supports the goal of maximizing employment while also keeping prices stable. Generally, when the Federal Reserve wants to stimulate economic growth, it lowers interest rates, which reduces costs for people and businesses to borrow money to spend or invest. But when the rate of inflation is too high, the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates to keep price increases under control.

The data used in this analysis is from the March 2022 release of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI). To determine the consumer products and services most impacted by inflation, researchers at Smartest Dollar calculated the year-over-year percentage change in the CPI for select items. In the event of a tie, the product or service with the greater seasonally-adjusted percentage change in CPI from January to February of 2022 was ranked higher.

Here are the products and services most impacted by inflation.

15. Fish and seafood

Fresh whole fish
Larina Marina / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +10.4%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +1.1%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +0.2%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 0.29

14. Coffee

Woman drinking coffee
PixOfPOP / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +10.5%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +1.5%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +1.6%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 0.18

13. Fresh fruits

Hand slicing fruit
Ievgen Tytarenko / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +10.6%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +3.7%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +3.5%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 0.59

12. Eggs

Brown chicken eggs in a carton.
Kunchit prompheat / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +11.4%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +2.2%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +2.2%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 0.11

11. New vehicles

Happy family in black car
pratan ounpitipong / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +12.4%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +0.3%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +0.3%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 4.09

10. Poultry

Rotisserie chicken
AS Food studio / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +12.5%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +1.7%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +1.7%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 0.34

9. Pork

Pork chop
klaikungwon / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +14.0%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +1.0%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +0.7%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 0.36

8. Motor vehicle parts and equipment

Check your car's radiator before your next trip.
seksan kingwatcharapong / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +14.3%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +1.6%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +1.6%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 0.43

7. Beef and veal

Man eating hamburger
Odua Images / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +16.2%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +0.8%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +0.5%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 0.54

6. Utility (piped) gas service

Natural gas
Vova Shevchuk / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +23.8%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +1.5%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +0.6%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 0.88

5. Car and truck rental

Rental car counter
goodluz / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +24.3%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +3.5%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +1.4%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 0.14

4. Lodging away from home

Tourism at a hotel during the coronavirus
Space_Cat / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +25.1%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +2.2%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +5.5%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 0.90

3. Fuel oil and other fuels

Outdoor grill on a patio
Arina P Habich / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +33.4%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +6.5%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +6.1%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 0.20

2. Motor fuel

Man buying gas
Desizned / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +38.1%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): +6.7%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +5.4%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 3.79

1. Used cars and trucks

Used car on a lot
cleanfotos / Shutterstock.com
  • Year-over-year change in price: +41.2%
  • Month-over-month change in price (seasonally adjusted): -0.2%
  • Month-over-month change in price (unadjusted): +0.8%
  • Relative importance to CPI (0-100): 4.17

Methodology

Working on computer data analysis on a laptop
Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock.com

The data used in this analysis is from the March 2022 release of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI), covering data up to February 2022.

To determine the consumer products and services that have been most impacted by inflation, researchers calculated the year-over-year percentage change in the CPI comparing February 2022 with February 2021.

In the event of a tie, the product or service with the greater seasonally-adjusted percentage change in CPI from January to February 2022 was ranked higher. To improve relevance, only select CPI categories were included in the analysis.

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