Consumer Prices Plateau as Inflation Slows to Prepandemic Levels

Both transportation and food-price increases remain above overall inflation trends, as measured by their changes since the beginning of 2020. Inflation for transportation costs, however, fell steeply in the latter half of 2022 as gasoline prices came down and vehicle prices leveled off, led by easing costs for used vehicles.

Meanwhile, growth in costs to rent or own a home has accelerated. Overall price growth since January 2020 is higher than growth in housing costs, but the gap has narrowed, though rent growth might be poised to slow.

Dining out and eating at home have outpaced overall cost growth since the start of the pandemic, with grocery items hitting consumers’ wallets harder.

Egg prices are up nearly 80% compared with January 2020 levels, according to the consumer-price index, partly because of an avian-influenza outbreak that has killed tens of millions of birds across the country since early last year. 

Prices for meat products such as chicken and ground beef have surged since 2020 as many Americans have been cooking at home, but have eased in recent months with prices for both items declining for at least three consecutive months.

Among transportation-related expenses, gasoline prices are often some of the most volatile costs Americans face in their daily lives and have swung from becoming cheaper in early 2020 to steep rises in 2022, as the war in Ukraine affected global oil markets.

Pump prices have tumbled sharply in recent months, but price growth since January 2020 remains about double that of overall inflation.

Car and truck prices have amplified transportation costs, surging as Americans bought cars early in the pandemic and as chip shortages hampered supply chains. By December 2022, transportation expenses—including fuel, vehicles and parts—had risen about 23% from before the pandemic.

The decline in transportation costs in recent months has been offset, in part, by rising rents, as landlords have increased prices to keep pace with inflation and higher interest rates have driven up mortgage costs. Shelter inflation dipped below historical trends in 2020, but since mid-2021 has outpaced the rate seen during the previous decade.

Generally inflation has slowed, but food-price inflation has been persistently elevated. Egg prices, for instance, grew at a 21% a year rate since January 2020, but have seen inflation jump to a 68% annual rate since June.

Meanwhile, ground beef had average inflation of about 6% from 2020 through 2022, but prices have fallen recently and would be 4.4% cheaper a year at the rates recorded in the past six months.

Elsewhere, admission to sporting events—which fell 1% a year from 2020 through 2022—would have grown almost 20% annually if price hikes from the past six months were to last a full year.

Transportation costs have been more diverse in price growth. Gasoline has outpaced overall inflation since 2020, but prices have fallen more steeply in recent months. Auto- repair prices continue to grow faster than the overall index, while airfares have performed below overall inflation in both the long and short term.

Write to Danny Dougherty at danny.dougherty@wsj.com and Nate Rattner at nate.rattner@wsj.com

Both transportation and food-price increases remain above overall inflation trends, as measured by their changes since the beginning of 2020. Inflation for transportation costs, however, fell steeply in the latter half of 2022 as gasoline prices came down and vehicle prices leveled off, led by easing costs for used vehicles.

Meanwhile, growth in costs to rent or own a home has accelerated. Overall price growth since January 2020 is higher than growth in housing costs, but the gap has narrowed, though rent growth might be poised to slow.

Dining out and eating at home have outpaced overall cost growth since the start of the pandemic, with grocery items hitting consumers’ wallets harder.

Egg prices are up nearly 80% compared with January 2020 levels, according to the consumer-price index, partly because of an avian-influenza outbreak that has killed tens of millions of birds across the country since early last year. 

Prices for meat products such as chicken and ground beef have surged since 2020 as many Americans have been cooking at home, but have eased in recent months with prices for both items declining for at least three consecutive months.

Among transportation-related expenses, gasoline prices are often some of the most volatile costs Americans face in their daily lives and have swung from becoming cheaper in early 2020 to steep rises in 2022, as the war in Ukraine affected global oil markets.

Pump prices have tumbled sharply in recent months, but price growth since January 2020 remains about double that of overall inflation.

Car and truck prices have amplified transportation costs, surging as Americans bought cars early in the pandemic and as chip shortages hampered supply chains. By December 2022, transportation expenses—including fuel, vehicles and parts—had risen about 23% from before the pandemic.

The decline in transportation costs in recent months has been offset, in part, by rising rents, as landlords have increased prices to keep pace with inflation and higher interest rates have driven up mortgage costs. Shelter inflation dipped below historical trends in 2020, but since mid-2021 has outpaced the rate seen during the previous decade.

Generally inflation has slowed, but food-price inflation has been persistently elevated. Egg prices, for instance, grew at a 21% a year rate since January 2020, but have seen inflation jump to a 68% annual rate since June.

Meanwhile, ground beef had average inflation of about 6% from 2020 through 2022, but prices have fallen recently and would be 4.4% cheaper a year at the rates recorded in the past six months.

Elsewhere, admission to sporting events—which fell 1% a year from 2020 through 2022—would have grown almost 20% annually if price hikes from the past six months were to last a full year.

Transportation costs have been more diverse in price growth. Gasoline has outpaced overall inflation since 2020, but prices have fallen more steeply in recent months. Auto- repair prices continue to grow faster than the overall index, while airfares have performed below overall inflation in both the long and short term.

Write to Danny Dougherty at danny.dougherty@wsj.com and Nate Rattner at nate.rattner@wsj.com