Inflation hits four-decade high, consumer prices soar 7 percent

Inflation has soared to its highest in four decades, with consumer prices jumping by 7 percent for the year ending in December, the feds said Wednesday. The surge was the highest annual increase since June 1982 for the Consumer Price Index, a key inflation gauge that tracks the costs of goods and services including used car sales, groceries and rent, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in December.