(CNN) — Prices continued to rise last month in the United States, driving a key measure of inflation to a level not seen since January 1982.
The consumer price index, which measures a basket of goods and services, stood at 7.9% in the 12-month period ending in February, without seasonal adjustments, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. This figure is in line with economists’ forecasts.
The prices of gasoline, food and housing – which are necessary expenses and not discretionary – drove the price increase in February.
February prices rose 0.8%, adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, more than in January. Gasoline prices alone rose 6.6% and contributed nearly a third of the global rise in inflation.
Food prices rose 1% last month, the biggest monthly increase since April 2020.
About one-third of the 24-cent-per-gallon increase in the gasoline price regular came in the last five days of the month, following Russia invaded Ukraine, according to data compiled for AAA by the Oil Price Information Service. But prices have skyrocketed since then, with the price of a gallon of regular gas rising 71 cents, or regarding 20%, alone since late February to settle at $4.36 a gallon on Thursday.
The White House was preparing for a high inflation figure, as press secretary Jen Psaki had anticipated on Wednesday, due to the increase in energy costs, which have skyrocketed since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began.
He added that prices in pandemic-related sectors such as travel and restaurants are also expected to rise as the US recovers from the wave of the omicron coronavirus.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
