‘Remarkable’ surge in auto insurance costs fans US inflation

Even as U.S. inflation has eased in the last year, an unusual culprit has emerged in recent months as a surprise force in preventing consumer prices from falling even further: auto insurance.

Consumer prices in December overall rose 3.4% from a year earlier, the Labor Department said on Thursday in the release of the monthly Consumer Price Index, more than the 3.2% economists polled by Reuters had expected and up from 3.1% in November.

Several familiar categories accounted for much of the overshoot, with stubbornly high shelter costs in particular accounting for close to two-thirds of the increase. But the highest annual increase for car insurance in nearly half a century made a notable upward contribution that may not be fading soon.

“The behavior of the MVI (motor vehicle insurance) component of the CPI has truly been remarkable, and I don’t see any evidence of near-term relief,” Tom Simons, U.S. economist at Jefferies, said in an email.