Consumer prices climb 7% in the past year, highest jump since 1982

Jerome Powell on Tuesday said the Fed is prepared to raise rates if needed.

The latest government data on inflation indicates consumer prices are continuing their rapid rise as pandemic-battered supply chains struggle to keep up with rebounding consumer demand.

The consumer price index -- a measure of the prices Americans pay for a market basket of everyday goods and services -- jumped 7% over the last 12 months, the Labor Department said Wednesday. This marks the largest one-year increase since the period ending in June 1982, the DOL noted.

The so-called core index, or measure for all items except the more volatile food and energy indices, climbed 5.5% over the last year -- the largest 12-month change since February 1991. The core index spiked 0.6% in December, building on the 0.5% increase seen in November.

The energy index alone rose a whopping 29.3% over the last year (driven hikes in the the gas index), and the food index increased 6.3%.