The figure reported Thursday by the Commerce Department was the largest year-over-year rise since January 1982.
FILE - Gas prices are displayed at a gas station Friday, March 11, 2022, in Long Beach, Calif. Rebates or cash payments are being proposed in California, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and elsewhere as states are flush with cash and Americans are facing the highest inflation in four decades. – An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.
Squeezed by inflation, consumers increased their spending by just 0.2% in February, down from a much larger 2.7% gain in January. Adjusted for inflation, spending actually fell 0.4% last month. The decline partly reflected a shift away from heavy spending on goods to a focus on services, such as health care, travel and entertainment, which consumers had long avoided during the worst of the pandemic.Spending on such services grew 0.
Last month, food costs climbed 1.4%, the most in nearly two years. Energy costs spiked 3.7%, the biggest such increase since October.
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