Despite the Federal Open Market Committee raising the federal-funds rate last month, money still feels easy to come by. Stocks are trading near record highs, and prices are accelerating across the economy. Inflation data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this week show that, in September, producer prices had their largest monthly gain in more than four years, and consumer prices rose 3.7% from a year earlier. Core consumer prices, excluding volatile food and energy categories, climbed 2.6%, up from 2.4% in August.
