US inflation hits 8.5% after surge in energy and food prices

[Celerity]

Top Fed official warns of ‘upside’ risk to price growth due to war in Ukraine and Chinese lockdowns

https://www.ft.com/content/b075001b-5cab-4641-a483-f3e470953166

https://archive.ph/96zKD

US consumer price growth surpassed 8 per cent in March, its fastest pace since 1981 following a surge in the cost of energy and food, maintaining pressure on the Federal Reserve to take aggressive action to tackle inflation.

The consumer price index increased 8.5 per cent last month compared with a year ago, marginally above Wall Street’s expectations, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Tuesday. The monthly rise was 1.2 per cent, the fastest jump since September 2005 and a sharp acceleration from the 0.8 per cent increase recorded in February.

Once volatile items such as food and energy are stripped out, “core” CPI advanced 0.3 per cent in March. That was the slowest rise since September, but still translated to a 6.5 per cent annual increase.

Lael Brainard, a Fed governor awaiting Senate confirmation to be the next vice-chair, warned of “upside” risks to inflation, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — which is fuelling energy and food costs — and new Covid-19 lockdowns in China that could worsen supply chain constraints. “The economy has sustained now a number of these kinds of inflationary shocks from external events,” she said at a Wall Street Journal event. “We’ve seen a lot of resilience but we’ve also seen very high inflation.”




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[jimfields33]

1. I think the grocery store is worse then gas prices.

I’d bet everyone is paying at least twenty bucks more everytime they go to buy food and that is probably was low guess. That hurts the poor big time.

[SmallFry]

2. This is what matters at the polls. NT

[Amishman]

3. agreed, the general public focuses on what impacts them right now

and they don't care whose fault it is. If they're feeling pain right now, the backlash goes against whoever is in power for not preventing or fixing it.

[uponit7771]

4. K&R, and its record profit **MARGINS** are the majority of inflation cause (link)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216589780

[Midnight Writer]

5. People watch those gas prices like an economic gauge.

It is a simple, single item nearly everyone uses, and they see the price changes on the signs every time they drive by a gas station.

[JoanofArgh]

6. Well, supply chain, avian flu which is killing chickens,

the pig flu in Mexico which is raising pork prices and war in Ukraine affecting gas and bread prices. A bunch of different things happening at once.