The latest rise in inflation helps to explain why investors are increasingly asking not whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next year but rather how much and how quickly it may do so.
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that consumer prices rose strongly in October, up 0.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the prior month. Over the last 12 months, inflation is up 6.2%. So-called core prices, which exclude food and energy items, rose 4.6% over the past year. Both are the largest annual increases in more than 30 years.
