U.S. hit with price hikes: Apartment rent, restaurant meals and haircut prices are up

Prices of restaurant meals, gym memberships, haircuts and even a cup of coffee are rising in America, as well as apartment rent. American consumers are beginning to feel the financial burden, as the inflation rates in the U.S. start to kick in.

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MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - Americans are about to face unfamiliar boundaries after several years of flat or falling prices. Inflation rates in the U.S. are suddenly hiking up, resulting in an increase of prices for commodities, services and rent.

Price increases in the U.S. may have remained modest but in some cases items are being cancelled because of price declines in other items, which kept the overall inflation historically very low. This current step-up in prices of consumer products is quite large compared to the records from the past six years, since the Great Recession period.

Analysts see this as a sign of a healthier economy, where business are not afraid to pass higher rates and costs to consumers. Almost 5.6 million jobs have become available in the past two years, allowing more of the general consuming public to absorb the higher price rates.

The Federal Reserve is reportedly leaning into raising interest rates, later this year, after experiencing a record low. Inflation has long been following the Federal Reserve's constant 2 percent target rate, but is estimated to return back to its normal level in the coming months.

"That should give the Fed a little more confidence that... they will meet their (inflation) objective," said Laura Rosner, an economist of the BNP Paribas.

Several notable price hikes recorded earlier include haircuts, which jumped 1.6 percent since June, a big jump compared to the other 62 years of data the government has tracked. It even surged to 2.8 percent, the largest since 2008.

A cup of coffee is now 0.1 percent higher, compared to 12 months earlier. Starbucks even raised their price for a cup of coffee by 5 cents to 20 cents per cup. Beef prices have increased by 11 percent, leading companies like Chipotle to increase prices for steak by an average of 30 cents per entree.

Residential rents climbed 3.5 percent in June 2015, compared to the data gathered since June 2014.

Overall, U.S. consumers have not yet been hit by significant price changes yet. If prices continue to increase, economists predict that prices of rent, insurance, haircuts, restaurant meals and utility bills will continue to be greatly affected.

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