Inflation rises as gas prices and housing costs tick up, leaving Americans concerned [Video]

Inflation is up yet again, largely due to rising gas prices and housing costs. For the last 12 months, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all items increased by 3.2%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. This is up slightly from the 3.1% increase last month.

On a monthly basis, CPI increased 0.4 percentage points in February. This increase comes after the index rose by 0.3 percentage points in January.

The shelter index and gasoline index are responsible for most of February’s CPI increase. Combined, they account for 60% of the monthly increase. The shelter index rose by 0.4% while the gasoline index rose by 3.8% in February.

The energy index as a whole also rose in February, by 2.3 percentage points. In January, it had declined by 0.9 points. This is largely due to rising gas prices, which averaged $3.17 last week.

As certain indexes rise, this leaves the Fed uncertain about whether …