The consumer price index, due Thursday, is forecast to accelerate to a 7.8% increase in February from a year ago, which would be the most since 1982. But economists are now saying it could peak somewhere in the 8%-9% range this month or next, as the invasion of Ukraine and severe restrictions on the Russian economy send the prices of staples like oil and food soaring.

The U.S. economy is starting to display pockets of price pressures, further stoking the debate among economists and market participants over the future path of inflation.

With Covid-19 cases stabilizing and Democrats oiling the tracks to pass large parts of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan -- even without Republican support -- economists are raising their 2021 economic growth forecasts.

The U.S. economy has splintered along state and city lines, with the speed of the rebound largely dependent on the magnitude of local business restrictions to combat an unending surge in Covid-19 cases.