Are prices really increasing?

In a report released last week, the U.S. Labor Department said consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in January, owing to factors that include a drop in gas prices.

But the Consumer Price Index does not include food and energy. Since we started tracking prices, the cost of coffee, chicken and toilet paper has increased one dollar or more per unit. The price of a dozen eggs has dropped dramatically while the cost of a bottle of maple syrup has remained stable.

Tariffs are blamed for some, but not all, of the price hikes. For instance, the coffee crops in Brazil and Vietnam – where the United States gets most of its coffee – were affected by weather.