US consumer prices in June rose by the biggest amount since 1982 on a continued surge in petrol prices, adding more weight to an economy struggling through a strained banking system and the worst housing downturn in decades, a government report today showed.
The Consumer Price Index, the government's key measure of inflation, advanced 1.1 per cent during the month, the biggest monthly rise since June 1982, the Labor Department said. That was well above the 0.7 per cent increase economists polled ahead of the report were expecting.
Prices were up 5 per cent from a year ago, the biggest year-on-year rise since 1991 the department said. That gain was also considerably higher than the 4.5 per cent rise Wall Street economists were expecting.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the so-called core CPI rose by a more tame 0.3 per cent, but that rise was still higher than the 0.2 per cent gain expected.
Energy prices advanced 6.6 per cent during the month, reflecting a 10.1 per cent surge in gasoline prices as consumers are paying well in excess of $4.00 a gallon.
The department said energy costs accounted for roughly two-thirds of the overall monthly increase in consumer prices.
Reuters