U.S. inflation accelerated to a 7.5% annual rate in January, reaching a new four-decade high as strong consumer demand and pandemic-related supply constraints kept pushing up prices.
The Labor Department on Thursday said the consumer-price index—which measures what consumers pay for goods and services—was last month at its highest level since February 1982, when compared with January a year ago, and higher than December’s 7% annual rate. Inflation has been above 5% for the past eight months.
The so-called core price index, which excludes the often-volatile categories of food and energy, climbed 6% in…
