Inflation fears rise as US consumer prices surge

Prices US consumers pay for goods and services surged 0.8 percent last month, the largest monthly jump in a decade.

A worrisome bout of inflation struck the United States economy in April, with consumer prices for goods and services surging 0.8 percent, the largest monthly jump in more than a decade, and the year-over-year increase reaching its fastest rate since 2008. The acceleration in prices, which has been building for months, has unsettled financial markets and raised concerns that it could weaken the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic recession. Wednesday’s report from the US Department of Labor showed sharply higher prices for everything from food and clothes to housing. A 10 percent surge in the prices of used cars and trucks — a record jump — accounted for roughly one-third of last month’s increases. Prices for vehicles, both used and new, have been soaring as a result of a computer chip shortage that has slowed auto production and reduced dealer supplies.