Key US inflation rate hits double digits in February

(Trends Wide) — Prices in the United States continued to rise in February and another key gauge of inflation soared into double digits.

The US Producer Price Index, which tracks what US producers are paid for their goods and services on average over time, rose 10% during the 12-month period ending in February, without adjusting for seasonal variations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The figure is in line with a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that reported last week that the consumer price index, which measures a basket of goods and services, stood at 7.9% in the 12-month period. which ended in February.

The prices of gasoline, food and housing – which are necessary expenses and not discretionary – drove the price increase in February.

February prices rose 0.8%, adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, more than in January. Gasoline prices alone rose 6.6% and contributed nearly a third of the global rise in inflation.

Food prices rose 1% last month, the biggest monthly increase since April 2020.

About a third of the 24-cent-per-gallon increase in the price of regular gasoline occurred in the last five days of the month, after Russia invaded Ukraine, according to data compiled for AAA by the Petroleum Price Information Service. . But prices have skyrocketed since then, with the price of a gallon of regular gas rising 71 cents, or about 20%, alone since late February to settle at $4.36 a gallon on Thursday.