U.S. consumer prices post largest gain since 2009 as inflation ramps up | Reuters

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"U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in nearly 12 years in April as booming demand amid a reopening economy pushed against supply constraints, which could add fuel to financial market fears of a lengthy period of higher inflation.

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The report from the Labor Department on Wednesday also showed a strong buildup of underlying price pressures, extending a stocks selloff on Wall Street. Most economists were, however, unwavering in their belief that the surge in prices would be temporary, noting that the main drivers of the bigger-than-expected inflation increase were hotels and airlines, industries that were hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Bottlenecks in the supply chain, which led to a record jump in prices of used cars and trucks last month, were expected to ease. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has similar views.

"This is not a sign of an inflation problem," said Robert Barbera, director of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Financial Economics. "We have the capacity to produce this stuff, we simply need time to get things back on line."