U.S. consumer prices increased more than expected in July, with a measure of underlying inflation rising by the most in 29 ½ years as the costs of goods and services climbed.
The report from the Labor Department on Wednesday probably does not mark the start of a troubling rise in inflation, and the Federal Reserve is likely to continue pumping money into the economy to aid the recovery from the COVID-19 downturn.
Tens of millions of Americans are unemployed and coronavirus infections are spreading across the country.
The consumer price index rose 0.6 percent last month, with gasoline accounting for a quarter of the gain. The CPI increased by the same margin in June. In the 12 months through July, the CPI accelerated 1.0 percent after climbing 0.6 percent in June.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI would rise 0.3 percent in July and gain 0.8 percent on a year-on-year basis.
Click here to read the full report from Lucia Mutikani of Reuters.