After grappling with high inflation for more than two years, American consumers are now seeing an economic trend that many might only dimly remember: falling prices — but only on certain types of products.
Deflation is impacting so-called durable goods, or products that are meant to last more than three years, Wall Street Journal reporter David Harrison told CBS News. As Harrison noted in his reporting, durable goods have dropped on a year-over-year basis for five straight months and dropped 2.6% in October from their September 2022 peak.
These items are products such as used cars, furniture and appliances, which saw big run-ups in prices during the pandemic. Used cars in particular were a pain point for U.S. households, with pre-owned cars seeing their prices jump more than 50% in the first two years of the pandemic.
These recent pockets of deflation could help push the overall U.S. inflation rate closer to 2%, which is the level the Federal Reserve is targeting. The central bank has raised its benchmark rate 11 times since early 2022,…
