Prices in the US are rising at their fastest rate in almost 40 years, with inflation up 7% year-on-year in December.
Strong demand and scarce supply for key items such as cars are driving the increases, which are putting pressure on policymakers to act.
The US central bank is expected to raise interest rates this year.
The rise in borrowing costs is aimed at reducing demand by making purchases such as cars more expensive.
December's increase marked the third month in a row that the US annual inflation rate has hovered above 6% - well north of policymakers' 2% target. The last time the pace of inflation exceeded that level was 1982.
Housing costs were up 4.1% year-on-year, while the cost of groceries rose 6.5% - compared to a 1.5% annual average over the last 10 years.
Wednesday's report from the Labor Department showed signs that some of the pressures may be easing.
The cost of energy dropped 0.4% from November to December - its first decline since April. But over 12 months energy costs are up by nearly 30% and have returned to their upward trend in recent days.
"Overall, this is every bit as bad as we expected," Paul Ashworth, chief economist at Capital Economics, said of the December inflation report.
Reacting to the latest report, President Joe Biden said that it "demonstrates that we are making progress in slowing the rate of price increases".
He added that there is "more work to do" in the US and noted that "inflation is a global challenge, appearing in virtually every developed nation as it emerges from the pandemic economic slump".
The price pressures occurring in the US have been seen to varying degrees around the world.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which represents more than 30 of the world's largest economies, said this week that inflation among its members had hit its highest rate in 25 years in November. READ MORE.
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