January Inflation: What’s Up, What’s Down in the US Marketplace

Some of the highest gas prices in town are posted on a signboard at a gas station in downtown Los Angeles on June 22, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/file/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. annual inflation rate surged to its highest level since 1982 in January, new Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data show.

Last month, the consumer price index (CPI) climbed 7.5 percent, topping the market estimate of 7.3 percent. The core inflation rate, which eliminates the volatile energy and food sectors, advanced 6.0 percent, slightly higher than economists’ forecasts of 5.9 percent.