Economics

Key Points

• Commerce Department indexes that the Fed relies on heavily for inflation signals showed prices continuing to climb at a rate still considerably higher than the 2% annual goal.
• The stubborn inflation data raised several ominous specters, namely that the Fed may have to keep rates elevated for longer or even have to hike at some point.
• Thus far, the economy has managed to avoid broader damage from the inflation problem, though there are some notable cracks.