Stripping out food and energy costs, which tend to be more volatile, prices rose 5.2% over the same period. It was the fastest advance since April 1983.
For the month of January, prices rose 0.6%, or 0.5% excluding energy and food, in line with economists’ predictions but at a faster rate than in the month prior.
Flat incomes but rising prices
Friday’s data release show that January wasn’t pleasant for Americans. While incomes didn’t budge, prices — and therefore spending — rose.
It was the worst month for personal incomes since September, when they actually declined. Disposable incomes inched up by 0.1%, also the worst performance since September.
The report also showed that consumer spending rose by 2.1%, reversing a downtrend from December. In fact, it was the best month for spending since March last year.
This is a developing story. It will be updated
