Let's consider current and recent inflation rates in the US.

a. For the current inflation rate, go to the website of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics -- www.bls.gov On the right-hand side of the page, under Latest Numbers, click on Consumer Price Index. Use the Consumer Price Index Summary to report the inflation rate for the last year (to be clear, this will be one number, showing how much prices have increased on average over the last 12 months).

b. Use the graph in the LMS labeled Inflation Rate (FRED Data) to compare the current US inflation rate to inflation rates over the past 40-50 years. When did the highest inflation rate in the US occur? When did the lowest inflation rate in the US occur? How does our current inflation rate compare to these highest and lowest rates?

FRED Graph Observations Federal Reserve Economic Data Link: https://fred.stlouisfed.org Help: https://fredhelp.stlouisfed.org Economic Research Division Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FPCPITOTLZGUSA Inflation, consumer prices for the United States, Percent, Annual, Not Seasonally Adjusted Frequency: Annual observation_date FPCPITOTLZGUSA 1960-01-01 1.457975986277860 1961-01-01 1.070724147647230 1962-01-01 1. 198773348201850 1963-01-01 1.239669421487600 1964-01-01 1.278911564625830 1965-01-01 1.58516926383669 1966-01-01 3.015075376884390 1967-01-01 2.772785622593070 1968-01-01 4.271796152885340 1969-01-01 5.462386200287500 1970-01-01 5.838255338482530 1971-01-01 4.292766688130450 1972-01-01 3.272278246552830 1973-01-01 6.177760063770410 1974-01-01 11.054804804804800 1975-01-01 9. 143146864965340 1976-01-01 5.744812635490850 1977-01-01 6.501683994728390 1978-01-01 7.630963838856020 1979-01-01 11.254471129279500 1980-01-01 13.549201974968400 1981-01-01 10.334715340277100 1982-01-01 6.131427000274940 1983-01-01 3.212435233160630 1984-01-01 4.300535475234270 1985-01-01 3.545644152093690 1986-01-01 1.898047722342750 1987-01-01 3.664563217516910 1988-01-01 4.077741107444080 1989-01-01 4.827003030089490 1990-01-01 5.397956439903220 1991-01-01 4.234963964538530 1992-01-01 3.028819678149700 1993-01-01 2.951656966385540 1994-01-01 2.607441592154600 1995-01-01 2.805419688536550 1996-01-01 2.931204199934400 1997-01-01 2.337689937307410 1998-01-01 1.552279098743620 1999-01-01 2. 188027196973580 2000-01-01 3.376857271499350 2001-01-01 2.826171118854020 2002-01-01 1.586031626506030 2003-01-01 2.270094973361130 2004-01-01 2.677236693091730 2005-01-01 3.392746845495470 2006-01-01 3.225944100704070 2007-01-01 2.852672481501360 2008-01-01 3.839100296651010 2009-01-01 0.355546266299750 2010-01-01 1.640043442389890 2011-01-01 3. 156841568622060 2012-01-01 2.069337265260590 2013-01-01 1.464832655627140 2014-01-01 1.622222977408210 2015-01-01 0. 118627135552435 2016-01-01 1.261583205705370 2017-01-01 2. 130110003659630 2018-01-01 2.442583296928180 2019-01-01 1.812210075260150 2020-01-01 .233584396306370 2021-01-01 4.697858863637390