Political and Legislative
Annual Inflation Reaches Its Fastest Rate Since 1982
Consumer prices rose 0.8 percent in February and 7.9 percent over the last 12 months, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.
The Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, showed price growth speeding up on both monthly and annual basis. Rising prices for gasoline, housing and food drove most of February’s inflation spike, the department said.
Economists expected prices to rise roughly 7.9 percent on an annual basis and 0.6 percent between January and February. Annual inflation jumped to the highest rate since 1982 in February and monthly inflation rose for the first month since October 2021.
