U.S. consumer price annual inflation surged to 7% in December – registering the fastest pace in four decades, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed.
The headline figure indicates an acceleration from the 6.8% pace in November. December’s rate is the highest since June 1982. Surging prices of used and new cars and rising rental costs largely fueled the increase in prices last month.
On a monthly basis, inflation was +0.5%.
Both annual and month-over-month headline inflation for December were in line with the Street forecasts.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile components such as food and energy prices, rose +0.6% month-over-month. It was +5.5% on an annual basis, the highest since February of 1991.