• Excluding food and energy, core CPI rose 5.9%
• Adjusted for inflation, hourly wages fell 1% in June and are down 3.6% from last year
US inflation soared again to a new four-decade high last month, likely strengthening the Federal Reserve’s resolve to raise interest rates aggressively, which would risk overturning the economic expansion.
The consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of everyday goods and services related to the cost of living, rose 9.1% from a year earlier, the largest gain since the end of 1981, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday. Dow Jones expected the inflation measure to be around 8.8%.
On a monthly basis, the widely followed inflation gauge increased 1.3%, the most since 2005, reflecting higher gasoline, shelter and food costs.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the so-called core CPI increased 5.9%, compared with the 5.7% estimate.
Core inflation peaked at 6.5% in March and has been slowing down since.
The latest red-hot inflation figures reaffirm that price pressures are rampant throughout the economy and taking a more significant toll on real wages, as inflation-adjusted incomes, based on average hourly earnings, fell 1% for the month and were down 3.6% from a year ago, according to a separate report from Labor Department.
The inflation data will keep Fed officials on an aggressive policy course to rein in demand, however, New York Fed President John Williams expects US economic growth could fall below 1% this year and remain slow through the next year as the central bank acts “resolutely” to curb inflation.
Last Friday, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he “fully” supports another three-quarter of a percentage point interest rate hike at the US Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting later this month.
Picture Credit: CNBC
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