Wholesale Prices Grow at Fastest Pace on Record

U.S. consumer prices continued to rise last month — up 6.8% compared to a year ago, as inflation hit a 39-year high. (See this infographic published by Statista.)

Meanwhile, wholesale prices rose 9.6% from a year ago, the largest increase since the 12-month data were first calculated in 2010. Excluding food, energy, and trade services, the core producer price index increased at a 6.9% pace. (Here’s the producer price index for all manufacturing.)

In an attempt to slow inflation, the Federal Reserve announced this week it would soon end its pandemic-era bond purchases and pave the way for three quarter-percentage-point interest rate hikes by the end of 2022. 12/14/2021