On Thursday, March 10th, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the February CPI increased by 0.8 percent compared to the previous month.  Food-at-home prices jumped 8.6 percent compared to February 2021. Beef prices increased by 16.2 percent while the combination of meat, poultry, fish and eggs was up by 13 percent year-over-year.  Other food groups also increased including bakery products at 7.6 percent, fruit and vegetables, 7.6 percent; dairy and related products, 5.2 percent.

The sharp increase in the CPI in February included energy costs that were up 25.6 percent year-over-year and spiked by 3.5 percent during February 2022.

In commenting on CPI data, John Leer, at Morning Consult stated, "the inflation situation is getting worse, not better.  Household staples are becoming more and more expensive, crowding out spending on discretionary categories and delaying the spending reallocation back to services".  Leer added, "Unfortunately the war in the Ukraine will make it more difficult to get inflation under control as gas and energy prices continue to rise and supply chains remain in chaos".