U.S. Inflation Hits New Four-Decade High of 9.1%

U.S. inflation reached 9.1% in June, its highest rate in nearly 41 years, the Labor Department said.

The consumer-price index’s pace for June eclipsed May’s annual rate of 8.6% that led Federal Reserve officials to shift to a faster pace of benchmark interest-rate increases, according to meeting minutes released last week.

Core prices, a measure that strips out volatile food and energy components, increased by 5.9% in June from a year ago, a slightly slower pace than May’s 6%, the Labor Department said Wednesday. On a month-to month basis, core prices accelerated slightly to 0.7% in June compared with the prior month, when they rose by 0.6%.

Prices were up broadly across the economy, with gasoline far outpacing other categories with an 11.2% gain over the prior month. Gasoline prices have been on a downward path in recent weeks. Shelter and food price increases were also major contributors to inflation, the Labor Department said.

Investor expectations of slowing economic growth world-wide have led to a decline in commodity prices in recent weeks, including for oil, copper, wheat and corn, after those prices rose sharply following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Retailers have warned of the need to discount goods, especially apparel and home goods, that are out of sync with customer preferences as spending shifts to services and away from goods, and consumers spend down elevated savings. Economists expect those developments to subdue price pressures in the coming months.