Economics
Hot Inflation and Flagging Sentiment Up the Ante for Fed, Biden
- Consumer price index rises 8.6% in May, fresh 40-year high
- Sentiment gauge plummets to a record low on higher prices
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US inflation accelerated to a fresh 40-year high in May, indicating price pressures are becoming entrenched in the economy and shattering consumer confidence.
The latest government inflation figures will likely push the Federal Reserve to extend an aggressive series of interest-rate hikes into the fall. For President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats, the data were a one-two punch as a separate report showed consumer sentiment plunged in early June to the lowest in data back to 1978.