US Inflation surges 7.5% on an annual basis, even more than expected

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Inflation surges 7.5% on an annual basis, even more than expected and highest since 1982

• The consumer price index for all items rose 0.6% in January, driving up annual inflation by 7.5%.
  
• That marked the biggest gain since February 1982 and was even higher than the Wall Street estimate.
  
• Core inflation rose 6%, which also was a notch above expectations.
  
• Real earnings for workers increased just 0.1% on the month when accounting for inflation.
  
• Weekly jobless claims declined to 223,000, below the 230,000 estimate.
  

Consumer prices surged more than expected over the past 12 months, indicating a worsening outlook for inflation and cementing the likelihood of substantial interest rate hikes this year.

The consumer price index for January, which measures the costs of dozens of everyday consumer goods, rose 7.5% compared with a year ago, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

That compared with Dow Jones estimates of 7.2% for the closely watched inflation gauge. It was the highest reading since February 1982.

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