Inflation in the United States set a new 12-month record in February, driven in particular by the increase in gasoline prices after the start of the war in Ukraine. In the last twelve months to February, inflation was 7.9%, the highest since January 1982.
Compared to the previous month, the February increase was 0.8%, according to the consumer price index (CPI) published on Thursday by the Department of Labor. Gasoline prices explain almost a third of this increase, with an increase of 6.6% compared to January.
Last month they also suffered increases food sectors (+1.0%), especially in stores (+1.4%), while the increase in restaurants was much more moderate (+0.4%).
Meanwhile, the prices of used vehicles, which rose 41.2% since February 2021marked a small decrease in one month (-0.2%), the first since September.
“The Russo-Ukrainian War further fuels the skyrocketing rate of inflation through rising energy prices, food and basic commodities, which are inflated by worsening supply chain problems,” said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Oxford Economics.
“This will lead to a higher peak in inflation in the short term and a slower-than-expected slowdown in 2022,” he added, while forecasting an inflation “of almost 6.5% on average in 2022 after an increase of 4.7% in 2021”.
In the short term, gasoline should continue to rise in March, since the price of a barrel is close to its historical maximum since 2008.
Inflation in the United States set a new 12-month record in February, driven in particular by the increase in gasoline prices after the start of the war in Ukraine. In the last twelve months to February, inflation was 7.9%, the highest since January 1982.
Compared to the previous month, the February increase was 0.8%, according to the consumer price index (CPI) published on Thursday by the Department of Labor. Gasoline prices explain almost a third of this increase, with an increase of 6.6% compared to January.
Last month they also suffered increases food sectors (+1.0%), especially in stores (+1.4%), while the increase in restaurants was much more moderate (+0.4%).
Meanwhile, the prices of used vehicles, which rose 41.2% since February 2021marked a small decrease in one month (-0.2%), the first since September.
“The Russo-Ukrainian War further fuels the skyrocketing rate of inflation through rising energy prices, food and basic commodities, which are inflated by worsening supply chain problems,” said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Oxford Economics.
“This will lead to a higher peak in inflation in the short term and a slower-than-expected slowdown in 2022,” he added, while forecasting an inflation “of almost 6.5% on average in 2022 after an increase of 4.7% in 2021”.
In the short term, gasoline should continue to rise in March, since the price of a barrel is close to its historical maximum since 2008.
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