Consumer prices fell 2.3% in 1930, a mild decline compared with what was coming but the first sign that the summer 1929 downturn was not going to be short. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates that contraction from August 1929, and by the time it finally bottomed out in March 1933 it would run 43 months, the longest of any downturn in the NBER’s chronology back to 1854. Congress made the trade picture worse in June, when President Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, raising duties on more than 20,000 imported goods to some of the highest levels in a century. Trading partners retaliated with tariffs of their own, and global trade volumes collapsed over the next several years, deepening a downturn economists still debate how much the tariff itself worsened. The financial system cracked that fall: a regional banking panic culminated in the December 11 failure of the Bank of United States in New York, at the time the largest bank failure in American history, wiping out more than $200 million in deposits. It was the first of four banking panics that would hit the country before 1933 was out. Consumer prices still stood 68.7% above their 1913 starting point, but the direction had clearly turned. First-class postage held at 2 cents, unchanged for eleven straight years.
Year in review
Inflation in 1930
The U.S. inflation rate in 1930 was -2.3% (CPI: 16.7). Convert 1930 dollars to today →
-2.3% 1930 inflation rate
-1.9% 1930s average
0.6% peak month (Apr)
-6.4% lowest month (Dec)
What things cost in 1930
| First-class stamp | $0.02 |
|---|
What $100 from 1930 was worth later
| In 1940 | $83.83 |
|---|---|
| In 1950 | $144 |
| In 1960 | $177 |
| In 1970 | $232 |
| In 1980 | $493 |
| In 1990 | $783 |
| In 2000 | $1,031 |
| In 2010 | $1,306 |
| In 2020 | $1,550 |
| In 2026 | $1,986 |
Inflation in 1930, month by month
| Month | CPI-U | 12-month rate |
|---|---|---|
| January | 17.1 | 0.0% |
| February | 17 | -0.6% |
| March | 16.9 | -0.6% |
| April | 17 | 0.6% |
| May | 16.9 | -0.6% |
| June | 16.8 | -1.8% |
| July | 16.6 | -4.0% |
| August | 16.5 | -4.6% |
| September | 16.6 | -4.0% |
| October | 16.5 | -4.6% |
| November | 16.4 | -5.2% |
| December | 16.1 | -6.4% |
Economic events of 1930
- Consumer prices fall 2.3% as the Depression deepens 1930 was the first full year of the downturn the National Bureau of Economic Research dates from August 1929, and it would prove to be the start of the longest contraction in the NBER's chronology, which stretches back to 1854. The 43-month slide would not bottom out until March 1933.
- The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act becomes law President Hoover signed the act June 17, raising duties on more than 20,000 imported goods to some of the highest levels in a century. Trading partners retaliated with tariffs of their own, and global trade volumes collapsed over the next several years, a contraction economists still debate the size of Smoot-Hawley's contribution to.
- The first wave of Depression-era bank failures hits A regional banking crisis that fall culminated in the December 11 failure of the Bank of United States in New York, at the time the largest bank failure in American history, with more than $200 million in deposits. It was the first of four banking panics that would rack the financial system through 1933.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index history; National Bureau of Economic Research, US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions; Federal Reserve History; USPS historical postage rates.
Inflation figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages. See the methodology.