The Department of Labor (DOL) revealed Tuesday that a key consumer price indicator used by the government to monitor inflation increased by 8.5 percent in the previous year, the highest rate of inflation since December 1981.
According to a Labor Department report issued Tuesday morning, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed 1.2 percent between February and March, the largest month-over-month increase since 2005. CPI was expected to rise 1.1 percent last month and 8.4 percent during the 12-month period ending in March, according to economists polled by Dow Jones.
The White House warned on Monday that the CPI data would be extremely high ahead of the announcement, but attributed the increase on Russian President Vladimir Putin. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which disrupted global energy markets dominated by Russian supply, gasoline prices reached new highs in March.
The dotted line is Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
— Brad Polumbo šŗšøā½ļø š³ļøāš (@brad_polumbo) April 11, 2022
Oh, wait, it's not.
It's Biden's inauguration. pic.twitter.com/4JYsxGBqDd
However, the DOL said that the core CPI, which gauges prices of all commodities excluding notoriously volatile energy and food categories, climbed 6.5 percent between April 2021 and March. Despite being lower than the headline figure, the core inflation rate announced on Tuesday was the highest since August 1982.
Inflation has soared in recent months: the Consumer Price Index (CPI) breached the Official Reserve’s 2% target in May 2021 and has since moved far higher, according to federal statistics. Before Putin ever authorized troops to attack Ukraine, inflation rose by a stunning 7.5 percent in January and 7.9 percent in February.
According to a CBS News survey issued Monday, while recent employment reports have showed robust growth, Americans are more concerned about inflation when it comes to the economy. President Joe Biden’s handling of inflation was only rated favorably by 31% of those polled.
In recent months, Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee have blasted the Federal Reserve for its continued drive to address climate change. The Fed is increasingly concentrating on topics outside of its statutory jurisdiction, according to the legislators.
