Washington: US consumer prices saw their biggest annual increase in more than 40 years last month, rising 7.9 percent compared to February 2021 as inflation continues to batter the economy, the government said Thursday.
Compared to January, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.8 percent, the Labor Department said, which was within expectations but nonetheless a sign price increases were accelerating, driven by rising costs for gasoline, food and housing. The United States has seen prices increase rapidly over the past year as it recovered from the Covid-19 impact, and the Federal Reserve is set to attack inflation by raising interest rates next week for the first time since the pandemic began.
However, the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is expected to push consumer prices even higher, particularly for energy. A 6.6 percent jump in gasoline prices accounted for a third of the monthly CPI increase, while overall food costs rose one percent and groceries rose 1.4 percent, the largest gains in both categories since April 2020.
Housing costs such as rents rose 0.5 percent compared to January and were up 4.7 percent in the latest 12 months, the report said. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, CPI saw a monthly gain of 0.5 percent last month, slightly less than in January, and increased 6.4 percent over the past year.
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