Consumer Price Inflation Rises 7%, Hits 39-Year High

Consumer prices rose during the final month of 2021, with inflation reaching its fastest pace in 39 years.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its "Consumer Price Index Study" on Wednesday (January 12), which revealed that the U.S. consumer price inflation index increased by 7% during the past year, the nation's largest rise in prices since June 1982, CNN reports.

The inflation rate is also higher than the 6.8% rise over a 12-month span reported during November 2021, as well as initial predictions made by economists.

Without food and energy costs being considered, inflation rose to 5.5% during the span between December 2020 and December 2021, which is the largest annual increase since February 1991 and a drastically quicker pass than the 4.9% reported core inflation rise over a 12-month span reported in November 2021.

The food price index alone rose to 6.3%, while grocery prices increased by 6.5%, from December 2020 to December 2021, according to the report.

Additionally, the energy cost is reported to have increased by 29.3% between December 2020 and December 2021.

Still, the rate of inflation plaes in comparison to record numbers reported in the 1980s, as inflation peaked during the spring of 1980 at 14.6% with and 14.8% without seasonal adjustments, CNN reports.