Last year, inflation rates reached 9.1%, an almost 40-year high. Since then, rates have been slowing, largely due to interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. As interest rates go up, consumers realize higher commercial interest rates and spending is driven down.
According to Kiplinger’s Inflation Outlook, the inflation rate edged down to a still-high 4.9% in April and should drop to around 3.5% in the next few months. However, despite this decline, Americans are still feeling the effects of inflation, and in certain areas of the country inflation is rising more than others.
