美国去年12月份消费者价格指数比上年同期上涨7%

远航一号

Inflation plowed ahead at its fastest 12-month pace in nearly 40 years during December, according to a closely watched gauge the Labor Department released Wednesday.

The consumer price index, a metric that measures costs across dozens of items, increased 7%, according to the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.5%.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting the gauge to increase 7% on an annual basis and 0.4% from November.

The annual move was the fastest increase since June 1982 and comes amid a shortage of goods and workers and on the heels of unprecedented cash flowing through the U.S. economy from Congress and the Federal Reserve.

Despite the strong gain, stocks rose after the news while government bond yields were mostly negative.

“The December CPI report of a 7% increase over the last 12 months will be shocking for some investors as we haven’t seen a number that high” in almost 40 years, said Brian Price, head of investment management at Commonwealth Financial Network. “However, this print was largely anticipated by many, and we can see that reaction in the bond market as longer-term interest rates are declining so far this morning.”

Excluding food and energy prices, so-called core CPI increased 5.5% year over year and 0.6% from the previous month. That compared with estimates of 5.4% and 0.5%. For core inflation, it was the largest annual growth since February 1991.

Shelter costs, which make up nearly one-third of the total rose 0.4% for the month and 4.1% for the year. That was the fastest pace since February 2007.

Used vehicle prices, which have been a major component of the inflation increase during the Covid pandemic due to supply chain constraints that have limited new vehicle production, rose another 3.5% in December, bringing the increase from a year ago to 37.3%.

Conversely, energy prices mostly declined for the month, falling 0.4% as fuel oil was down 2.4% and gasoline fell 0.5%. Still, the complex as a whole rose 29.3% in the 12-month period, including a gain of 49.6% for gasoline.

Fed officials are watching the inflation data closely and are widely expected to raise interest rates this year in an effort combat increasing prices and as the jobs picture approaches full employment. Though the central bank uses the personal consumption expenditures price index as its primary inflation measure, policymakers take in a wide range of information in making decisions.

“This morning’s CPI read really only solidifies what we already know: Consumer wallets are feeling pricing pressures and in turn the Fed has signaled a more hawkish approach. But the question remains if the Fed will pick up the pace given inflation is seemingly here to stay, at least in the medium-term,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director for investment strategy at E-Trade. “With Covid cases continuing to rise, the impact on the supply chain and labor shortages could persist, which only fuels higher prices.”

Inflation has been eating into otherwise strong wage gains for workers. However, real average hourly earnings posted a small 0.1% increase for the month, as the 0.6% total gain outweighed the 0.5% CPI headline increase. On a year-over-year basis, real earnings declined 2.4%, according to BLS calculations.

远航一号

美国消费价格上涨7%，创40年来最大涨幅

布雷德迈尔华盛顿 —
美国劳工部星期三报告说，美国消费价格12月比一年前上涨7%，创下40年来最大的通胀率。

美国经济2021年全面价格升高，创1982年来最大增幅。12月份的消费价格按年率计算要比11月份6.8%增加了0.5%。

分析人士说，强劲的消费需求遇上了新冠病毒相关的供应短缺，导致汽车和家具等大型商品的售价上涨，更重要的是每天购买的食品和汽油等必需品的价格也有升高。

尽管环比通胀上升，拜登总统说，报告“显示总体通货膨胀上个月出现有意义的减少，汽油和食品价格都在回落。”

他说这“证明我们在降低价格上涨速度上正取得进展。与此同时，这份报告凸显我们依然有更多的工作要做，价格涨幅依然过高，紧缩了家庭财政。”

迅速升高的消费价格引起白宫和美联储政策制定人的关注，即使他们说预计通胀会在2022年维持高位。

拜登11月要求联邦贸易委员会调查“石油天然气公司反消费者行为的日益增长的证据。”美联储显示采取新努力控制通胀，手段是3月份终止对经济的直接财政支持，比原计划有所提前，并提高基准利率。

美联储主席鲍威尔星期二对一个国会委员会说，把价格降到更加平稳的水平是确保从疫情中持久复原的关键。

鲍威尔对议员们说，“如果通胀过于顽固，如果这些高通胀水平在经济或民众的思想中过于根深蒂固，就会导致我们采取更加紧缩的货币政策，这可能导致衰退，对工人不利。”

对消费者来说，通胀经常更触及日常生活，而不是已经从新冠疫情中顺利复原的美国经济的其它方面。

美国经济去年增加了640万份就业，创下纪录，12月份的失业率是3.9%，远低于1月份的6.3%，普通工人的小时薪资增加了5.8%。政府向几乎所有美国家庭发出的救助支票帮助了很多家庭。

但消费价格显著上升。

政府统计显示，汽油价格去年上涨58%，二手车和卡车的价格上升31%，新车售价上涨11%。

肉类、家禽和水产价格上涨13%，家具卧具上涨将近12%。快餐和小吃店的价格上涨将近8%。