Inflation ramped up the quickest since 2008 last month, with the Consumer Price Index surging 4.2% from a year ago, compared to the Dow Jones projection of a 3.6% increase. The monthly gain was 0.8%, versus the anticipated 0.2%.
The Core CPI Is Spiking
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core CPI spiked 3% from the same period in 2020 and 0.9% on a monthly basis. The respective estimates were 2.3% and 0.3%.
“The markets have been hovering around all times highs with a lot of the reopening trade already priced in. So it’s not out of the question that the outsized inflation read could bring us back down to earth a bit,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E-Trade.