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CV NEWS FEED // The prices of gas, groceries, electronics, and air travel are dropping, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
As CNBC reported this week, data show that between March 2024 and March 2025, the most deflated categories of goods tracked by the CPI included gas (down almost 10%), and dishes and flatware (down nearly 11%).
CNBC also noted that gas fell roughly 6% between February and March, while crude oil prices, which affect the price of gas, went down 22% in the last year.
Between March 2024 and March 2025, the price of TVs deflated 9%, the price for car and truck rentals fell nearly 9%, and airline fares fell just over 5%. CNBC reported that economists say the lower prices of oil, coupled with decreased international travel to the US (down 14% in March 2025), are causing air travel prices to go down.
The prices for several food items also deflated across the same time frame, with tomatoes deflating 8% and lettuce deflating 5%. According to economists, deflating prices of diesel fuel and transportation from farm to store, as well as seasonal harvests, are factors in the deflation measured by the CPI.
CNBC cautioned that prices could still change quickly, and economists also noted that because prices depend on so many factors, there’s no guarantee the lower prices will stay.
“There are a lot of idiosyncratic factors affecting certain categories,” said Ryan Sweet, chief US economist at Oxford Economics, according to CNBC. “In the end, it’s supply and demand that will affect prices.”
Similarly, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s, reportedly said he thought the prices would change in the coming weeks and months.
The news got mixed reactions online, with some celebrating the lower prices and others warning that deflation is a sign of a struggling economy. Eric Daugherty, assistant news director of Florida’s Voice, posted on X: “I knew prices were going down, I didn’t realize it was to THIS DEGREE!”
Trump celebrated the lower prices in a May 9 Truth Social post, writing: “Costs down, NO INFLATION. Very different from what the Fed, and Fake News Media, were hoping for.”
