Gas, food, cars lead inflation to highest point since 2021

Inflation's breathtaking 9.1% rise in June stemmed from an across-the-board increase in prices of various goods and services, including food, energy and cars.

• Why it matters: Inflation's relentless march is battering the economy, providing further cause for the Fed to hike interest rates in a bid to cool things off.

By the numbers: The Consumer Price Index's spike was the largest year-over-year jump since November 1981. Highlights — or perhaps we should say lowlights — included:

• Energy, up 41.6%. That included a 59.9% increase in gasoline prices and a 98.5% increase in fuel oil.
• New vehicles, up 11.4%. The average new-vehicle transaction price hit an all-time high of $48.043 in June, beating December's record of $47,202, according to Kelley Blue Book.
• Food, up 10.4%.

Yes, but: Gasoline's astonishing surge had an outsized impact — and it's been edging lower since mid-June, with the national average falling four straight weeks.

• With fuel inventories and demand falling, GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan projected that the national average price of gasoline could fall from $4.63 today to below $4 by mid-August.
• And declining commodity prices suggest "the outlook for inflation does not look as bleak as it did a month ago," Capital Economics reported Wednesday.