US Inflation Is Rising Quicker Than Expected
In June, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped 1.3% compared to the 1% increase seen in May, serving as a clear sign that inflation is still running rampant.
Compared to one year ago, the CPI hit 9.1% in June, jumping from the 8.6% year-on-year rise seen the month before. The increase maintains the highest inflation seen in four decades for the US economy.
Wall Street analysts had predicted a month-on-month increase of 1.1% and an annual increase of 8.8%.
June’s rise was heavily influenced by higher fuel and food costs. The price of petrol increased 11.2% from May while energy prices rose 60% over the past year. Food prices were up 1% from May and 10.4% over the previous 12 months.
Last month, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell vowed that policymakers would not allow inflation to overcome the US economy in the long term:“The risk is that because of the multiplicity of shocks you start to transition to a higher inflation regime. Our job is literally to prevent that from happening, and we will prevent that from happening,” Powell said.
“We will not allow a transition from a low-inflation environment into a high-inflation environment.”
[ymal]
