Breaking: Inflation Surged to 5.4 Percent in June in Biggest Jump Since 2008

The Consumer Price Index, the major inflation metric, surged by 5.4 percent from January to June, representing the largest year-over-year increase since 2008, according to data released Tuesday by the Department of Labor.

The jump was significantly driven by price hikes in the used car and truck market, the Labor Department said. Federal Reserve and elected officials have expected inflation to moderate as the supply and demand disequilibriums in the average consumer basket rectify now that the pandemic is dwindling. They’ve suggested that production bottlenecks and supply squeezes are largely to blame for the upticks, which they claim will resolve over time rather than contribute to sustained inflation.

If wages do not move in lockstep with inflation, price increases impose an effective tax on the consumer, reducing the length a dollar can be stretched to pay for goods and services.

To curb inflation, the Fed has a few but limited weapons in its arsenal. One instrument at its disposal is to raise rates to prevent the economy from overheating, but that carries with it the risk of adversely affecting the stock market and other asset classes.

Inflation Surged to 5.4 Percent in June in Biggest Jump Since 2008 The surge was largely driven by the used car and truck market, according to the Labor ... READ MORE ADVERTISEMENT Follow Us & Share 19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY, 10036, USA Your Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy View this e-mail in your browser.