Last month the United States inflation rose a startling 5.6%, the first time it has rose that fast in 17 years. With this number also came a 0.8% rise in the consumer-price index, showing consumers the effect of the increase in cost for food, energy, clothing and airfare. In the previous month there was a 1.1% rise that accompanied a 0.3% rise in core inflation (excludes food and energy). This is a significant rise of 2.5% from the previous year and well surpasses the Federal Agency’s “comfort zone” of 1.5% – 2.0%.
Economists are attributing this rise to recent reports of the U.S dollar and commodity prices. The dollar had increased to its highest value compared to the Euro since February and oil had dropped in price for over a week. As imports have become cheaper, the economy still shows weakness, leading to the inflation.
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