Consumer prices jumped at the fastest pace in more than a decade in April, surprising economists and intensifying a debate on Wall Street and in Washington over whether inflation might reach levels that would squeeze households and ultimately undermine the recovery.
Economists and central bank officials said the numbers reflected pandemic-driven trends that would most likely prove temporary. But investors and politicians are worried that prices will keep climbing potentially pressuring the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates sharply. That could slow economic growth and send stock prices plummeting. On Wednesday, stocks slumped more than 2 percent, their biggest decline since late February, after the government reported in the morning that the closely monitored Consumer Price Index climbed 4.2 percent in April from a year earlier, its fastest pace since 2008.
A closed gas pump in Falls Church, Va. Gas prices have risen in several states as drivers rush to fill their tanks.Credit.Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
The operator of the Colonial Pipeline is expected to announce on Wednesday a timetable for resuming service of its vital fuel pipeline, which stretches from Texas to New Jersey and has been shut down since Friday after a ransomware attack.
At best, it would take several days and probably at least through the weekend to return gasoline, diesel and jet fuel shipments to normal. At worst, any delays could further encourage the panic buying that left thousands of outlets out of gasoline in Tennessee, Georgia and several other states in the Southeast, pushing up regional fuel prices.