Key inflation gauge hits 6.1%, highest level since 1982

An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.1% in January compared with a year ago — the largest year-over-year rise since 1982. It's the latest indication that Americans are enduring sharp price increases that will likely worsen after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core inflation increased 5.2% in January from a year earlier, the Commerce Department reported on Friday in its monthly personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index. 

Robust consumer spending has combined with widespread product and worker shortages to create the highest inflation in four decades — a heavy burden for U.S. households, especially lower-income families faced with elevated costs for food, fuel and rent. Americans are expressing increasing pessimism about the economy, with the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index falling to its lowest level in more than a decade.