Despite all the talk that inflation is cooling in the US, prices aren't actually falling. This is because most items have not become cheaper. Indeed, prices are actually growing at a slower rate -- that is, inflation is slowing. But for the average American, the experience is that everything is more expensive than it used to be, and that won't change until there is full-blown deflation.
Price data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that basic items such as ground beef and potato chips are now on average higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Gasoline prices are rising again, and the cost of electricity and various other daily necessities remains high. That largely explains why Americans are pretty depressed about their finances, which also weighed on confidence indicators.
