Consumer Prices Rose 7.9% YOY in February

Washington, DC, March 10, 2022-The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.8% in February on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.6 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 7.9% before seasonal adjustment.

Increases in the indexes for gasoline, shelter, and food were the largest contributors to the seasonally adjusted all items increase. The gasoline index rose 6.6% in February and accounted for almost a third of the all items monthly increase; other energy component indexes were mixed. The food index rose 1.0% as the food at home index rose 1.4%; both were the largest monthly increases since April 2020.  

According to the Wall Street Journal, “U.S. inflation climbed to a 7.9% annual rate in February, another four-decade high, as skyrocketing energy and commodity prices related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine pushed already-elevated costs higher.

“The Labor Department’s consumer-price index, which measures the cost of goods and services across the economy, was at its highest rate since January 1982, when annual inflation was 8.4%

“Rising energy prices, including higher gasoline prices, helped push up the inflation reading, along with increases for groceries, restaurant food, transportation services and apparel. “Economists expect additional price increases related to the Ukraine crisis after crude oil prices in March hit their highest levels since 2008, and U.S. gasoline prices reached record highs.”