CUNA Senior Economist Dawit Kebede issued the following statement in response to the November Consumer Price Index:

“Inflation continued to surge in November. Supply chain disruptions, higher demand for goods that continue to exceed pre-pandemic levels and increases in COVID-sensitive items such as shelter contributed to the rise.

 “The Federal Reserve was focused on supporting maximum employment as the recent price spike was thought to be transitory due to supply chain issues. Now the Fed seems to be concerned with stabilizing prices since COVID-related disruptions may not ease up soon. There are expectations the Federal Open Market Committee will announce at its meeting next week that it will end asset purchases before June. This will pave the way for possibly of raising the federal funds rate in 2022.”