Consumer prices rose 6.2% annualized in October, highest in three decades

The Labor Department reported Wednesday the consumer price index rose 6.2% in October, from a year ago.

The number is the largest 12-month increase since the period ending November 1990, according to the agency's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Economists projected the increase would be 5.9%, citing pandemic-related supply shortages.

On a monthly basis, the CPI increased 0.9%, compared to economists' estimates of 0.6%.

The federal government also said the monthly increase was broad-based, with rises in the indexes for energy, shelter, food, used cars and trucks and new vehicles among the larger contributors.