US consumer prices spike 4.2% last month from April 2020

US consumer inflation surged 4.2 percent last month compared to April 2020, the Labor Department said Wednesday, posting the biggest year-on-year increase since 2008 as the economy recovered from the pandemic. This much-faster than expected pop might resonate on Wall Street as investors attempt to decide whether inflation could change Federal Reserve Policy.

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The upsurge is the highest since the Great Recession of 2008 due to both federal stimulus checks and wide-ranging vaccine programs, which helped kick off people’s demand for goods and services prior to the supply.

Prices are rising, with inflation estimates running incredibly poor readings from 2020 and with disturbances in the supply chain starting to bite but demand rising. The trend in the monthly pop in April has been broader, as costs of used cars rose and the prices for shelter, air travel, and home furniture also increased.

The Biden administration and the Federal Reserve have been brushing off concerns for months that prices would shift into unsustainable inflation. But this is a huge gamble.

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As prices increase from wood to used automobiles, policymakers and economists are navigating rocky landscape. The Fed said it will not increase interest rates until it sees further labor market change, which is still down by more than 8 million jobs.

On Wall Street and among some analysts, however, the worry is that the rapid economic recovery, Washington’s massive stimulus efforts and the market’s pent-up consumer demand could render price rise stronger or more persistent than the Fed can withstand.