3 Years of Sticky Inflation: Why Your Grocery Bill Isn’t Coming Down

by Chris Pulver | Jul 20, 2026

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I need to show you something that explains why everyone feels like they’re drowning financially, even though the headlines keep telling us inflation is improving.

The market celebrated last week’s data — PPI came in at 5.5% versus 6.2% and everyone acted like we’d solved the inflation problem. But when I pulled up the year-over-year CPI chart, I saw something that should concern every investor and consumer.

We’ve had the same inflation readings since summer 2023. That’s three years of sticky inflation that refuses to budge in any meaningful way. This is why consumers are frustrated and why the economic data keeps disconnecting from how people actually feel.

Why Lower Inflation Doesn’t Mean Lower Prices

Here’s what most people don’t understand about inflation data — and this is critical. Lower inflation doesn’t mean prices are falling. It means prices are rising more slowly because it’s still inflation.

Think about what that means for your daily life. Car insurance, mortgages, health insurance and groceries — these things have doubled. Not increased by 2% or 3%…

Doubled.

This is why the improvement in inflation prints feels meaningless to most people. Price stability simply isn’t a thing in the U.S. right now because the current level of prices has become the new baseline.

The uncomfortable truth? Prices won’t go down unless we stop buying stuff. As long as demand holds up and the government keeps the money printer running, we’re stuck with these elevated price levels.

What This Means for Your Portfolio

Now here’s where this gets interesting from an investment perspective. We’re still a long way from the Fed’s 2% target and I don’t think we’re getting there anytime soon.

They can repeat that target as much as they want, but whether they truly expect to hit it is a different story. Getting all the way back to 2% without crushing growth would require conditions that simply don’t exist in the current economy.

More importantly, achieving 2% inflation would likely kill the economic growth the market is currently pricing in. That’s the paradox nobody wants to talk about.

My view is that we’re going to run a hot regime where even if the Fed pauses, asset prices continue higher amid sticky inflation. We’re hoping growth can outpace inflation instead of actually solving the inflation problem.

That’s exactly why I’ve been positioning in hard assets. If there’s one thing I’m confident about, it’s that the government won’t stop printing money. That’s why I’m accumulating gold and silver and watching Bitcoin closely for a potential recovery.

These aren’t abstract ideas — they’re tangible ways to stay ahead of a monetary system that keeps expanding.

The inflation story isn’t over — it’s just entering a new chapter. And understanding that distinction is critical to positioning your portfolio correctly for what comes next.

I’ll see you in the markets.

Chris Pulver
Chris Pulver Trading

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