Key developments on inflation

Reports on inflation showed big price increases at the consumer level and the wholesale level for June, driven by higher energy and food costs.

Here are the details:

— Consumer inflation jumped 1.1 percent in June, the second biggest monthly increase in the past quarter-century. It was exceeded only by a 1.3 percent surge in September 2005 when energy prices skyrocketed after Hurricane Katrina shut down Gulf Coast refineries. Over the past 12 months, consumer prices are up by 5 percent, the fastest increase since May 1991.

— About two-thirds of the June increase represented higher energy costs, which rose by 6.6 percent with gasoline up by 10.1 percent.

— Food costs rose 0.7 percent, reflecting big increases in the price of vegetables, dairy products and beef.

— Outside of food and energy, so-called core inflation was up 0.3 percent, the biggest one-month gain since a similar rise last January. In this category, airline fares jumped 4.5 percent.

— Wholesale prices, which reflect the cost of products before they get to the consumer level, increased by 1.8 percent in June, the biggest one-month gain in seven months. Over the past 12 months, wholesale prices have risen by 9.2 percent, the biggest increase in 27 years.

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Consumer prices jump 1.1 percent in June

Associated Press

Wed Jul 9

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