Here’s the inflation breakdown for August 2024 — in one chart

Published

1 year ago

September 11, 2024

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Inflation continued to throttle back in August, signaling that the fast-rising prices that plagued the U.S. economy for the better part of the three years during the pandemic era are increasingly shifting into the rearview mirror.

Overall inflationary pressures are “dissipating,” said Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo Economics.

The consumer price index — which measures how fast prices are changing across the U.S. economy — rose 2.5% in August from a year ago, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Wednesday.

That figure is down from 2.9% in July and is the lowest reading since February 2021.

There are still some pockets of potential concern, however, with housing perhaps the most troubling among them, economists said. But prices for staples like groceries and gasoline have normalized and the inflationary trend appears firmly to the downside, they said.

“We’d expect inflation to continue to subside,” though with “some ups and downs” in the data from month to month, House said.

‘Tamed’ but not ‘vanquished’

The August inflation reading is down significantly from the 9.1% pandemic-era peak in mid-2022, which was the highest level since 1981.

It’s also nearing policymakers’ long-term target of around 2%.

“Overall, inflation appears to have been successfully tamed but, with housing inflation still refusing to moderate as quickly as hoped, it hasn’t been completely vanquished,” Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note Wednesday morning.

With that in mind, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to start cutting interest rates this month as its focus shifts from tackling inflation to averting recession in the face of a cooling job market.

The central bank raised rates to their highest level in 23 years during the pandemic era, pushing up borrowing costs for consumers and businesses in a bid to tame inflation.

Both House and Ashworth expect the Fed to cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point at its upcoming policy meeting next week.

Housing inflation is falling but still high

Inflation for physical goods spiked as the U.S. economy reopened in 2021.

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains, while Americans spent more on their homes and less on services such as dining out and entertainment. Supply shortages coincided with higher consumer demand.

Services inflation — which is generally more sensitive to labor costs — also jumped, partly influenced by a historically hot labor market as employers clamored for workers when the economy reopened, economists said.

Housing, which is counted in the “services” category, has been a big impediment to overall inflation falling to the Fed’s target, economists said.

Shelter is largest component of the CPI, and therefore has an outsized effect on inflation readings.

The shelter index has risen 5.2% since August 2023, accounting for more than 70% of the annual increase in the “core” CPI, the BLS said Wednesday. (The core CPI is economists’ preferred gauge of inflation trends. It strips out food and energy costs, which can be volatile.)

Housing inflation moves up and down at glacial speed due to how the government measures it, economists said.

Such data quirks mask positive news in the real-time rental market, which has seen minimal inflation for about two years, economists said. Average rents actually deflated (meaning prices actually fell) by 1% in the second quarter of 2024 versus a year earlier, according to the BLS New Tenant Rent Index.

However, shelter CPI inflation has appeared to defy gravity lately: It increased on a monthly basis for two consecutive months, from 0.2% in June to 0.4% in July, and then to 0.5% in August.

“It’s puzzling, in all honesty,” House said. “[But] I’m of the view that we should continue to see shelter decelerate” given broader trends in the rental market.

Other ‘notable’ categories

More broadly, other categories with “notable increases” over the past year include motor vehicle insurance (prices are up 16.5% from August 2023), medical care (up 3%), recreation (up 1.6%) and education (3.1%), the BLS said.

A surge in new and used car prices a few years ago is likely now fueling high inflation for car insurance premiums and vehicle repair, since it generally costs more to insure and repair pricier cars, economists said.

Consumer prices rose 0.2% in August with core inflation higher than expected

Insurance inflation should ultimately fade alongside falling car prices, they said. New vehicle prices are down about 1% over the past year, and those for used cars and trucks have declined more than 10%.

Egg prices — which had surged in 2022 due to a historic outbreak of bird flu — are rising again following a reemergence of the deadly disease. They’re up 28% from a year ago.

Overall annual grocery inflation was less than 1% in August, down from an average 11.4% in 2022, which was the highest since 1979.

Gasoline prices are also down about 10% over the past year.

Environment

Toxic Pennsylvania mineland is about to become a big solar farm

Published

5 hours ago

December 13, 2025

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Toxic Pennsylvania mineland is about to become a big solar farm

Pennsylvania mineland solar — Photos of the existing contaminated minelands that will be converted to solar under the recently approved Black Moshannon solar project in Rush Township, Centre County PA (Photo: PennEnvironment)

Rush Township supervisors in Centre County, Pennsylvania, voted this week to greenlight a key permit for the Black Moshannon Solar project – a large solar development that would turn toxic former mineland into a major source of clean power.

If built, the Pennsylvania solar project would generate 265 megawatts of electricity – enough to power about 200,000 homes annually – on nearly 2,000 acres of toxic mineland. Developers deliberately chose the site, as the project is designed to reclaim land left behind by mining and fold environmental cleanup into the solar buildout.

According to project plans, the site would be restored with pollinators and pollinator-friendly ground cover planted beneath the solar panels. Developers have also committed to ongoing water quality and soil testing during construction and operations, along with soil improvements such as applying lime to help neutralize mining-related contamination and support vegetation growth.

Beyond the environmental cleanup, the project is expected to deliver a financial boost to the region. Black Moshannon Solar is projected to generate more than $5 million in tax revenue for the Phillipsburg-Osceola Area School District, along with more than $700,000 in direct tax payments to Centre County.

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Environmental and energy advocates praised the township’s decision. David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, called the vote a model for other communities across the state. “We are hopeful that other local government officials across Pennsylvania will follow Rush Township’s lead and implement similar, much-needed solar projects all across the Keystone State.”

Jim Gregory, executive director of the Conservative Energy Network-Pennsylvania, also applauded the approval. “In 40 years, their forward-thinking decisions will be recognized as catalysts for environmental protection, public health improvements, and economic prosperity.”

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Environment

Genesis GV90 leaks as breathtaking ultra-luxe SUV with coach doors [Video]

Published

8 hours ago

December 12, 2025

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Genesis GV90 leaks as breathtaking ultra-luxe SUV with coach doors [Video]

Genesis is gearing up to launch the stunning new flagship SUV. Ahead of its official debut, the GV90 leaked during an internal presentation, revealing our first look at the ultra-luxe electric SUV.

Genesis GV90 leak reveals coach doors and more

The GV90 is arriving as the largest, most luxurious Genesis SUV to date. Based on the Neolun Concept, the new flagship SUV will sit above the GV80 as Genesis expands into new segments.

As Genesis calls it, the “ultra-luxe, state-of-the-art SUV” stole the spotlight at the New York Auto Show last March.

It wasn’t the stunning, reductive design inspired by Korea’s moon-shaped porcelain jars or the premium Royal Indigo and Purple silk materials that caught most people’s attention at the event, but the B-pillarless coach doors.

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The SUV was showcased with Rolls-Royce-like coach doors, offering a new level of luxury for Genesis. Although we’ve seen the GV90 spotted out in public testing a few times now with coach doors, we wondered if they would make it to the production model.

After the full-size SUV reportedly leaked during an internal presentation, it looks like we’ve found our answer. The Genesis GV90 leak reveals two versions: a standard model and a coach-door model.

The leaked images from our friends at ShortsCar offer our first look at the production version in full. Earlier this month, a GV90 prototype was spotted out in public with the coach doors wide open, providing a sneak peek of the interior.

From what was shown, the cabin will feature a similar layout to the concept, with high-end purple and indigo materials. The GV90 was also caught with an all-black interior, which is expected to be the standard version.

A new video from the folks over at HealerTV offers a closer look at the breathtaking interior ahead of its official debut.

The GV90 appears to retain the gear selector located near the top of the steering wheel from the Neolun concept.

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Another report, from TheKoreanCarBlog, confirms the new gear selector after the first interior spy shots surfaced.

From what we’ve seen so far, the GV90 is shaping up to be a near replica of the ultra-luxe Neolun concept. Genesis has yet to announce a launch date for the GV90, but it is expected to make an official debut by the end of the year with sales starting in mid-2026.

Prices and final specs, like driving range, will be revealed closer to launch, but the Genesis GV90 is rumoured to be the first vehicle to ride on Hyundai’s new eM platform.

Hyundai said the new platform will deliver a 50% improvement in range compared to its current E-GMP-based EVs, such as the IONIQ 5. It’s also expected to offer Level 3 autonomous driving as well as other advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features.

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Environment

Battery storage hits $65/MWh – a tipping point for solar

Published

9 hours ago

December 12, 2025

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Battery storage hits /MWh – a tipping point for solar

solar battery storage — Photo: Enel North America

Turning cheap daytime solar into electricity you can actually use at night just got a lot cheaper. A new analysis from energy think tank Ember shows that utility-scale battery storage costs have fallen to $65 per megawatt-hour (MWh) as of October 2025 in markets outside China and the US. At that level, pairing solar with batteries to deliver power when it’s needed is now economically viable.

Battery storage costs have fallen dramatically over the past two years, and the decline continues. Following a steep decline in 2024, Ember’s analysis indicates that prices continued to fall sharply again in 2025.

The findings are based on real-world data from recent battery and solar-plus-storage auctions in Italy, Saudi Arabia, and India, as well as interviews with active developers across global markets.

According to Ember, the cost of a whole, grid-connected utility-scale battery storage system for long-duration projects (four hours or more) is now about $125 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) as of October 2025. That figure applies to projects outside China and the US. Core battery equipment delivered from China costs around $75/kWh, while installation and grid connection typically add another $50/kWh.

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Those lower upfront costs have pushed down the levelized cost of storage (LCOS) to just $65/MWh. Ember’s calculation reflects real-world assumptions around financing costs, system lifetime, efficiency, and battery degradation.

Cheaper hardware isn’t the only reason storage costs are falling. Longer battery lifetimes, higher efficiencies, and lower financing costs, helped by clearer revenue models such as auctions, have all contributed to the sharp drop in LCOS. Ember has published a live calculator alongside the report, allowing users to estimate LCOS using their own assumptions.

Why this matters comes down to how solar is actually used. Most solar power is generated during the day, so only a portion needs to be stored to make it dispatchable. Ember estimates that if half of daytime solar generation is shifted to nighttime, the $65/MWh storage cost adds about $33/MWh to the cost of solar electricity.

With the global average price of solar at $43/MWh in 2024, adding storage would bring the total cost to about $76/MWh, delivering power in a way that better matches real demand.

As Ember global electricity analyst Kostantsa Rangelova put it, after a 40% drop in battery equipment costs in 2024, the industry is now on track for another major fall in 2025. The economics of battery storage, she said, are “unrecognizable,” and the industry is still adjusting to this new reality.

“Solar is no longer just cheap daytime electricity; now it’s anytime dispatchable electricity. This is a game-changer for countries with fast-growing demand and strong solar resources,” Rangelova added.

Together, solar and battery storage are increasingly emerging as a scalable, secure, and affordable foundation for future power systems.

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