For months last year, the White House said inflation was transitory. But higher prices for gas, groceries, and other day-to-day essentials had stuck around, cementing 2021 as a year when the coronavirus dug in and prices logged their highest increase since 1982.

President Joe Biden has said inflation will normalize toward the end of the year. Still, his administration blames business concentration for high prices, which jumped 7% year-over-year in December.