US data expected to show 40-year high inflation levels

Inflationary pressures are likely to put a Federal Reserve interest rate increase next month on autopilot

The US Senate is due to vote on extending Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell's tenure.

Inflationary pressures in the US continued to heat up at the start of the year, data are expected to show, likely putting a Federal Reserve interest rate increase next month on autopilot.

The consumer price index, measuring US inflation, probably jumped 7.3% in January from a year ago, the largest annual advance since early 1982, according to economists. Excluding volatile energy and food categories, the prices are projected to have risen 5.9%.