January 1, Inflation hits 30-year high

The country’s rate of inflation hit a 30-year high.

The personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index went up by 0.4% in July—marking the fifth consecutive increase.

The inflation rate currently sits at 4.2%, though the Federal Reserve insists it will fall closer to 2% once the economy returns to normal. However, senior Fed officials have acknowledged that high inflation may persist longer than expected.

The inflation’s blame lies mostly on labor and material shortages.

“With global supply chain and logistics bottlenecks looking set to persist into 2022 and labor costs continuing to grow, inflation could prove to be more stubborn than many have been anticipating,” chief economist of Regions Financial Richard Moody said.

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Inflation rate hits 30-year high, PCE shows, as U.S. confronts major shortages