The overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped +0.4% to +7.9% in February, the highest reading since January 1982. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, also jumped by +0.4% to a reading of +6.4% – indicating that last month’s increase wasn’t caused by energy disruptions associated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While the Federal Reserve is likely to begin raising interest rates at their meeting next week, recently imposed economic sanctions could make the inflation situation and path to normalization more complicated than the central bank previously expected.
