US inflation soars amid import taxes

Figure hits highest level since February as shoppers face price rise due to levies

Inflation rose in June to its highest level since February as fallout from the Donald Trump administration's tariffs began to bite, said economists and shoppers faced with higher prices on furniture, clothing and appliances.

The consumer price index rose 2.7 percent in June compared to a year ago, figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed. That was up from an annual pace of 2.4 percent in May. Overall consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in June, a roughly 3.5 annualized rate. Until now, inflation had remained low, economists said.

"While inflation had not jumped (until now), partially empty shelves are becoming increasingly common across the country. High tariffs are needlessly raising costs," Thomas Fullerton, a US economist and professor of economics and finance at the University of Texas at El Paso, told China Daily.