U.S. consumer prices up 5.7% during past year

U.S. consumer prices rose 5.7% over the past year, the fastest pace in 39 years, as a surge in inflation confronts Americans with the holiday shopping season underway.

What happened

The November increase, reported Thursday by the Commerce Department, followed a 5.1% rise for the 12 months ending in October, continuing a string of annual price gains that have run well above the 2% inflation target set by the Federal Reserve.

Consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of U.S. economic activity, rose 0.6% in November, a solid gain but below the 1.4% surge in October.

Why it matters

Personal incomes, which provide the fuel for future spending increases, rose 0.4% in November, slightly lower than the 0.5% increase in October. Both gains came after a 1% plunge in incomes in September, the month that government benefit programs such as expanded unemployment benefits came to an end.

The big jump in the Commerce Department’s price gauge was similar to the rise in the consumer price index, up 6.8% for the 12 months ending in November, also the biggest surge by this measurement in 39 years.

What it means

While the CPI is the better known price gauge, the Federal Reserve prefers to follow the personal consumption expenditures price index in setting its interest-rate policies to fight inflation. The PCE price index tracks the actual purchase consumers are making each month, while the CPI follows a fixed market basket of goods.

For the month of November, the PCE price index rose 0.6%, slightly lower than the 0.7% monthly gain in October. Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.5% in November and has risen 4.7% over the past 12 months. It was the fastest pace for the core reading since a 5.1% rise in the 12 months ending in September 1983.