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US Inflation Hits 40-Year High Of 7.5%
Updated: Feb 16, 2022, 11:28amAndrew MichaelForbes Staf
The US consumer price index jumped by 7.5% in the year to January 2022, putting the country’s inflation rate at its highest level since 1982.
The figure, released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, exceeded economists’ expectations and is 0.50 percentage points higher than the 7% recorded in the 12 months to December 2021 – itself the highest rate since 1982.
Food and energy costs helped drive the increase, along with labour shortages and ongoing problems with the global supply chain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The news puts increased pressure on the US Federal Reserve to act more aggressively to tame inflation by raising interest rates.
The Fed recently signalled its intention to raise US interest rates next month, in what could be the first of a series of steps to head off sustained and potentially crippling levels of inflation.
Last week, faced with the same inflationary headwinds that are currently affecting all major economies, the Bank of England increased the Bank rate to 0.5% – the second increase in the space of three months following the rise from 0.1% to 0.25% in December.
Spring forward
Despite these moves, the Bank of England has warned that UK inflation could reach 7% this Spring before beginning to level off and eventually fall back. According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, consumer prices grew by 5.5% in the 12 months to January 2022, a 30-year high.Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor, said: “It looks as though the Fed could be in for around six rate hikes this year, with lift-off in March. Given the tightness of the labour market and strength of the underlying economy, the Fed is already behind the curve on inflation.
“The big question is to what extent the Fed’s limited demand-side focused tools will be able to target the supply side pressures from energy and labour.”
Hinesh Patel, portfolio manager at Quilter Investors, said: “Despite hopes that inflation may be starting to reach its peak in the US, the latest CPI reading has indicated it might be a few months before we can begin contemplating that thought.
“Markets have been caught unawares by this surprise to the upside and will just reiterate the Federal Reserve’s need to start hiking policy rates at its next meeting.”
US Inflation Hits 40-Year High Of 7.5%
The US consumer price index jumped by 7.5% in the year to January 2022, putting the country’s inflation rate at its highest level since 1982. The figure
www.forbes.com