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A monthly explainer generated directly from Basket Index data. Republished by Basket Index, attributed to public BLS, FRED, and EIA sources.
As of May 2022 · Base 100 = Jan 2020
Generated from May 2022's observations.
As of May 2022, the Basket Index for a US family of 4 sits at 117.7 — meaning the cost of a standard household basket has risen 12.3% versus a year ago and is up 2.02% from the previous month.
Most of the move comes from gasoline (regular unleaded), rent of primary residence, electricity (residential) and eggs (grade a, large). Together these items account for roughly 69% of the year-over-year basket cost change.
Inflation is rarely caused by one thing. Energy prices feed into food production and shipping; rent moves with housing supply and interest rates; and grocery prices respond to supply shocks, weather, and demand patterns. Basket Index does not claim causality — it tracks the prices households actually face, and lets you see which categories are pulling the basket up.
Year-over-year change for each item, ranked by contribution to the basket move.
Items down year-over-year, helping offset the rise.
One email a month. The Basket Index reading, biggest movers, one chart.