U.S. inflation is estimated to have remained at a nearly four-decade high in January as prices remained under pressure from strong consumer demand and pandemic-related supply constraints.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the Labor Department will report the consumer-price index—which measures what consumers pay for goods and services—rose 7.2% in January from the same month a year ago, marking a pickup from a 7% annual rate in December. It also would be the fastest pace for inflation since February 1982 and the eighth straight month above 5%.
The so-called core price index, which excludes the often-volatile categories of food and energy, is estimated to have risen 5.9% in January from a year earlier. That would be a sharper increase than December’s 5.5% rise, and the highest rate in nearly 40 years.
On a monthly basis,…
