The inflation rate is running at its hottest pace in nearly four decades, as widespread supply disruptions, high consumer demand and worker shortages fuel a …
The inflation rate is running at its hottest pace in nearly four decades, as widespread supply disruptions, high consumer demand and worker shortages fuel a surge in prices. Consumer prices soared by 5.7 percent in the year through November, according to the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index released by the Commerce Department Thursday. That topped the previous month’s rate of 5.1 percent, becoming the fastest pace increase since February 1982, when it hit 6.2 percent. The string of annual price gains have far outpaced the 2 percent inflation target set by the Federal Reserve. Food and energy prices rose 4.7 percent in November from the prior year, which is also the highest since 1982. Consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of US economic activity, rose 0.6 percent in November, a solid gain but below the 1.4 percent surge in October. The inflation jump largely reflected increasing energy costs, which rose 34 percent from a year ago, and food costs, which rose 5.
