Gasoline, food drive US inflation to four-decade high of 9.1% in June

This should keep the Federal Reserve on track for another big interest-rate hike later this month

US consumer prices accelerated in June as gasoline and food costs remained elevated, resulting in the largest annual increase in inflation in 40-1/2 years and cementing the case for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates by 75 basis points later this month.

The consumer price index increased 1.3% last month after advancing 1.0% in May, the Labor Department said on Wednesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI would rise 1.1%. Consumer prices are surging, driven by snarled global supply chains and massive fiscal stimulus from governments early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ongoing war in Ukraine, which