US annual consumer inflation up 9.1% in June, highest since November 1981

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Annual consumer inflation in the US rose 9.1% in June, marking the largest 12-month increase since November 1981, the US Department of Labor announced on Wednesday.

The consumer price index (CPI), which measures changes in the prices of goods and services from a consumer's perspective, came much higher than the market estimate of 8.8%, after it annually rose 8.6% in May.

On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 1.3% in June from the previous month, also coming higher than the market expectation of 1.1%. The monthly CPI increase in May was 1%.

Gasoline, shelter, and food were the largest contributors to the consumer price increase, according to the Department of Labor.

"The energy index rose 7.5% over the month and contributed nearly half of the all items increase, with the gasoline index rising 11.2% and the other major component indexes also rising," it said in a statement.

On an annual basis, they soared 41.6% and 59.9%, respectively.

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.7% in June from the previous month, coming above the market expectation of a 0.6% gain. Core CPI posted a monthly increase of 0.6% in May.

Annually, core CPI jumped 5.9% in June year-on-year, also coming above the market estimate of 5.7%, after gaining 6% in May from the same month a year ago.