Inflation in the US reaches 7.9 percent

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Inflation in the US reaches 7.9 percent.

Prices in the United States continued to rise over the past month, bringing the annual inflation rate to 7.9 percent.

This is the largest annual increase since 1982 and a significant change from the 7.5 percent rate reported in January.

Rising prices for energy, food and housing outpaced wage growth, reducing household consumer incomes.

The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates at this month’s meeting.

The US and many other parts of the world have been facing high inflation for months, as a surge in demand, driven in part by economic aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, was met with restrictions on the side of supply, with labor shortages and other problems.

The war in Ukraine has only increased the problems, spurring a global rise in energy prices as the West and its allies are avoiding buying oil from Russia, which provides about 7 percent of world oil supplies.

Over the last 12 months, the energy index has risen more than 25 percent, while gasoline has risen by a full 38 percent