It wasn’t long ago that the U.S. economy was stuck in an inflationary rut. Throughout much of the recent economic recovery, inflation — as measured by the U.S. Consumer Price Index — has risen approximately less than 2 percent a year. Some years, it barely scratched the surface of 1 percent, despite the Federal Reserve’s extraordinary efforts to stimulate economic growth.

It seems the times they are a-changin’. An ultra-tight labor market, more-robust growth in consumer prices and the Trump administration’s fiscal stimulus policies — including the $1.5 billion tax cut signed into law at the end of 2017 — are a few of the factors that recently have stoked inflation-related worries.

The CPI rose 2.8 percent during the 12-month period ended in May (not seasonally adjusted), the fastest rate since early 2012. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.2 percent over the same period. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the core Personal Consumpti