An inflation gauge closely monitored by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.4 per cent in February compared with a year ago, with sharply higher prices for food, gasoline and other necessities squeezing Americans' finances.
The figure reported Thursday by the Commerce Department was the largest year-over-year rise since January 1982. Excluding volatile prices for food and energy, so-called core inflation increased 5.4 per cent in February from 12 months earlier.
Robust consumer demand has combined with shortages of many goods to fuel the sharpest price jumps in four decades.
Escalating the inflation pressures, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has disrupted global oil markets and accelerated prices for wheat, nickel and other key commodities.
The inflation spike took a toll on consumers, whose spending in February rose just 0.2 per cent, down from a much larger 2.7 per cent gain in January. Adjusted for inflation, spending actually fell 0.4 per cent last month.
The Federal Reserve responded this month to the inflation surge by raising its benchmark short-term interest rate by a quarter-point from near zero, and it's likely to keep raising it well into next year.
Because its rate affects many consumer and business loans, the Fed's rate hikes will make borrowing more expensive and could weaken the economy over time.
Michael Feroli of JPMorgan is among economists who now think the Fed will raise its key rate by an aggressive half-point in both May and June.
The central bank hasn't raised its benchmark rate by a half-point in two decades, a sign of how concerned it has become about the persistent surge in inflation.
On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.6 per cent from January to February, up slightly from the previous month's increase of 0.5 per cent. Core prices rose 0.4 per cent, down from a 0.5 per cent increase in January.
Gas prices have soared in the past month in the aftermath of Russia's invasion, which led the United Kingdom and the Biden administration to ban Russia's oil exports. The cost of a gallon of gas shot up to a national average of USD 4.24 a gallon Wednesday, according to AAA. That's up 63 cents from a month ago, when it was USD 3.61.
Thursday's report follows a more widely monitored inflation gauge, the consumer price index, that was issued earlier this month. The CPI jumped to 7.9 per cent in February from a year ago, the sharpest such increase in four decades.
Many economists still expect inflation to peak in the coming months. In part, that's because price spikes that occurred last year, when the economy widely reopened, will begin to make the year-over-year price increases appear smaller. Yet Fed officials project that inflation, as measured by its preferred gauge, will still be a comparatively high 4.3 per cent by the end of this year.
