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Benchmark wheat in Chicago climbed above $8 a bushel for the first time in almost nine years amid growing inflation pressures that threaten to raise already soaring food prices worldwide.

WASHINGTON — Inflation at the wholesale level climbed 8.3% last month from August 2020, the biggest annual gain since the Labor Department started calculating the 12-month number in 2010.

WASHINGTON — American consumers faced a third straight monthly surge in prices in June, the latest evidence that a rapid reopening of the economy is fueling pent-up spending for goods and services that in many cases remain in short supply.

The cost to ship a boxload of goods to the U.S. from China edged close to $10,000 as the world’s biggest economy keeps vacuuming up imports amid slower recoveries from the pandemic from Europe to Asia.

U.S. consumer prices rose in July by more than expected on a jump in auto and apparel costs, though inflation remained broadly muted as the pandemic suppressed demand.

A key measure of U.S. consumer prices rose more than forecast in June, potentially complicating the Federal Reserve’s assessment of inflation as policy makers weigh an interest-rate cut as soon as this month.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the national Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers rose 1.8% in May compared with last year, the lowest rate in three months. But the national average masks a wide divergence among metro areas.

A key measure of U.S. inflation was little changed in December while falling energy prices dragged down the broader gauge, giving the Federal Reserve little urgency to raise interest rates soon as it signals a more cautious approach in 2019.

U.S. inflation showed little sign of breaking out in October despite strength in the economy and wages, likely keeping the Federal Reserve on its path of gradual interest-rate increases.

WASHINGTON — Consumer prices rose in June from a year earlier at the fastest pace in more than six years, lifted by more expensive gas, car insurance and higher rent.