Which prices are falling for consumers

Though inflation hasn’t but declined to policymakers’ goal stage, some pockets of the U.S. economic system have seen costs fall lately.

Customers have seen costs deflate for airfare, produce, family items, electronics and gasoline, for instance, in accordance with the buyer value index, an inflation gauge. (Deflation is when costs decline, whereas disinflation is when costs proceed to develop however at a slower tempo.)

“There are numerous idiosyncratic components affecting sure classes,” mentioned Ryan Candy, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “Ultimately, it is provide and demand that may have an effect on costs.”

In fact, some classes are risky and susceptible to excessive value gyrations — which means value declines may rapidly reverse. Tariffs additionally threaten to roil the image and put upward strain on many client costs.

“Customers ought to take pleasure in these decrease costs, as a result of they don’t seem to be right here to remain,” mentioned Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s. “They are going away fairly rapidly, I feel, over the subsequent few weeks and months.”

Listed here are some areas the place customers have seen a bit much less stress on their wallets these days.

President Donald Trump claimed in a social media publish Friday that fuel costs had dipped to $1.98 per gallon for motorists. Nevertheless, that declare is not true: The common retail fuel value is greater than $3 a gallon , in accordance with the US. Vitality Data Administration.

Nevertheless, costs have broadly declined up to now yr.

Gasoline costs are down nearly 10% from a yr in the past, in accordance with the most recent CPI information. They fell about 6% simply within the month from February to March, on a seasonally adjusted foundation, the info exhibits.

Oil costs have a big bearing on the costs customers pay on the pump, since gasoline is refined from oil.

Crude oil costs have fallen considerably. For instance, futures costs for West Texas Intermediate, a U.S. oil benchmark, are down 22% over the previous yr.

Decrease costs sign fears that the U.S. economic system is slowing down, which might imply much less demand for oil, Candy mentioned. In the meantime, a gaggle of oil-producing nations recognized OPEC+ agreed to boost manufacturing over the weekend, weakening costs amid higher provide.

“Costs cannot go a lot decrease for very lengthy or [oil] producers will begin pulling again manufacturing,” Zandi mentioned.

Decrease oil costs are filtering by to many different areas of the economic system, Zandi mentioned.

Airline fares are one instance, economists mentioned.

Costs for airline tickets are down greater than 5% from a yr in the past, in accordance with CPI information. They fell about 5.3% within the month from February to March.

Jet gas is a significant enter price for airways; jet gas costs are down about 15% within the yr by April 25, in accordance with the Worldwide Air Transport Affiliation.

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Weaker journey demand, significantly from worldwide vacationers to the U.S., has additionally put downward strain on fares, economists mentioned.

Worldwide visits to the U.S. fell about 14% in March 2025 from a yr earlier, in accordance with the U.S. Journey Affiliation.

The worldwide group is cautious of touring to the U.S. attributable to tensions from a U.S.-initiated commerce struggle, and territorial declarations from the White Home similar to Canada changing into the 51^st state or a couple of potential takeover of Greenland, economists mentioned. Folks additionally worry the specter of being detained when getting into the nation, economists mentioned.

Produce like tomatoes, lettuce and potatoes have seen sharp value declines.

Tomatoes, for instance, have seen costs fall about 8% up to now yr, in accordance with CPI information. These of lettuce and potatoes have pulled again about 5% and a pair of%, respectively.

Decrease prices for diesel gas — and, by extension, decrease transportation prices from farm to grocery retailer shelf — have helped, economists mentioned.

There are additionally seasonal supply-and-demand components at play, they mentioned.

“Tomato provides are rising because the Florida harvest is effectively underway,” Brad Rubin, sector supervisor on the Wells Fargo Agri-Meals Institute, wrote in an e-mail. “The Mexico spring harvest can be plentiful in Culiacan. This consists of spherical, Roma, and snacking tomato varieties.”

Tomatoes imported from Mexico will face new tariffs beginning in mid-July, nonetheless, following a Trump administration withdrawal from a commerce settlement between the 2 nations.

The lettuce crop has transitioned to Salinas, California, for the spring and the harvest has “plentiful yield and prime quality,” Rubin wrote. The crop typically transitions to Yuma, Arizona, from November to April, however “manufacturing challenges” by the winter put upward strain on costs, he wrote.

Televisions and smartphones have seen costs fall 9% and 14% up to now yr, in accordance with CPI information. They every declined greater than 1% within the month from February to March.

It’s normal to see costs deflate for client electronics, as a result of corporations can typically make merchandise like TVs and iPhones extra effectively over time, Candy mentioned.

“The flat display TV you’ll have purchased 5 years in the past is so much cheaper in the event you exit at present,” he mentioned. “That is regular.”

Know-how regularly improves, which means customers get extra for his or her cash. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles CPI information, treats these high quality enhancements as a value decline, giving the phantasm of falling costs on paper.

The explanations for value declines in different classes might be considerably laborious to pin down, economists mentioned.

For instance, sure family items like dishes and flatware, sporting items, and toys noticed costs fall about 11%, 5% and a pair of%, respectively, up to now yr. Equally, segments of the clothes market like infants’ and toddlers’ attire fell 4%.

Attire, for instance, might be “very seasonal,” Candy mentioned.  

“It might be climate or the timing of sure holidays,” he mentioned. “All of that may throw attire costs for a loop.”

A possible rationalization, Zandi mentioned, is retailers who tried stockpiling sure items in anticipation of tariffs could have bulked up their inventories greater than anticipated, and could also be pricing these items extra aggressively to scale back these inventories, he mentioned.