Data released by the Labor Department on Wednesday showed, in the month of December, consumer prices rose 7% over the past year.
This data marks the fastest rise in inflation in 40 years.
BREAKING: Prices paid by U.S. consumers jumped 7% in December from a year earlier, the highest inflation rate since 1982. It’s the latest evidence that rising costs for food, gas, rent and other necessities are heightening the pressures on U.S. households. https://t.co/9rDFhRIKgl
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 12, 2022
The Wall Street Journal noted, “The number of price categories experiencing inflation of 3% or more in the past year has nearly doubled since December 2020. That share is the highest it has been since 1991.”
As reported by NBC News, “The latest Consumer Price Index data, released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, marks the third consecutive month in which the index, a measure of what consumers pay for goods and services, rose by more than 6 percent.”
Speaking to Fox Business, Chief Strategist at Principal Global investors, Seema Shah, said “Inflation at 7% is no joke.”
Managing Director of E-Trade, Mike Loewengart said,
This morning’s CPI read really only solidifies what we already know: Consumer wallets are feeling pricing pressures and in turn the Fed has signaled a more hawkish approach. But the question remains if the Fed will pick up the pace given inflation is seemingly here to stay, at least in the medium-term….With Covid cases continuing to rise, the impact on the supply chain and labor shortages could persist, which only fuels higher prices.
