US consumer prices soared 7% in past year, most since 1982

Prices paid by U.S. consumers jumped 7% in December from a year earlier, the highest inflation rate since 1982 and the latest evidence that rising costs for food, rent and other necessities are heightening the financial pressures on America’s households.

Inflation has spiked during the recovery from the pandemic recession as Americans have ramped up spending on goods such as cars, furniture and appliances.

Those increased purchases have clogged ports and warehouses and exacerbated supply shortages of semiconductors and other parts.

Gas prices have also surged, in part because Americans have driven more in recent months after having cut back on travel and commuting earlier in the pandemic.

Rising prices have wiped out the healthy pay increases that many Americans have been receiving, making it harder for households, especially lower-income families, to afford basic expenses. Poll show that inflation has started displacing even the coronavirus as a public concern, making