U.S. consumer prices were resurgent last month, dashing hopes of a nascent slowdown and likely assuring another historically large interest-rate hike from the Federal Reserve.
The acceleration in inflation points to a stubbornly high cost of living for Americans, despite some relief at the gas pump. Price pressures are still historically elevated and widespread, pointing to a long road ahead toward the Fed’s inflation target. “If there was any doubt at all about 75 -- they’re definitely going 75” at next week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Jay Bryson, chief economist at Wells Fargo & Co., said on Bloomberg Television. “We thought they’d be stepping it back to 50 in November. At this point, you’d say 75 is certainly on the table in November.”Food costs increased 11.4 per cent from a year ago, the most since 1979. Electricity prices rose 15.8 per cent from 2021, the most since 1981.
Biden, in a White House ceremony later Tuesday, plans to argue that he and his fellow Democrats have helped steer the economy back to firmer footing as they tout a sweeping new climate, energy and health care law dubbed the “Inflation Reduction Act.”