Surging gas prices likely drove US inflation to 40-year high

Surging gas prices likely drove US inflation to 40-year high

FILE - In this June 15, 2018 file photo, twenty dollar bills are counted in North Andover, Mass. Rising prices can feel impossible to manage if money is already tight. To stay afloat, prioritize essential expenses that enable you to live and work. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Surging prices for gas, food and rent catapulted U.S. inflation to a new four-decade peak in June, further pressuring households and likely sealing the case for another large interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, with higher borrowing costs to follow. Consumer prices soared 9.1% compared with a year earlier, the government said Wednesday, the biggest 12-month increase since 1981, and up from an 8.6% jump in May. On a monthly basis, prices rose 1.3% from May to June, another substantial increase, after prices had jumped 1% from April to May.

Photo: (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)