The results of the June 2013 PracticalDad Price Index are in and the ‘flationary battle continues to rage on. The fact that the results show no change in the total index – May’s Total Index of 107.64 versus June’s 107.65 – and an actual drop in the Food-only Index from May’s 113.68 to June’s 113.55 – indicates that the inflationary aspirations of the global central banks are running headlong into the reality of underemployment, excessive bad debt and declining real wages. So it’s impossible to say whether it’s inflation or deflation and we’re left with ‘flation.
Recall that the index is composed of 47 separate items that can be purchased at any of three separate and unrelated grocery stores, and that 37 of these items comprise the Food-Only segment of the Total Index. With the scale set at November 2010 = 100, the upshot is that the cost of the average Food-only items in the marketbasket actually declined from May 2013 to June 2013.
The results of the past four months are:
Month/Year Total Index Food-Only Index Spread
3/13 107.24 113.35 6.11
4/13 107.29 113.46 nbsp; 6.17
5/13 107.64 113.68 6.04
6/13 107.65 113.55 5.90