U.S. consumer inflation rose to 3.3% in March as energy prices surged
The Facts
- The U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 0.9% in March from the previous month.
- Consumer prices were up 3.3% in March from a year earlier, compared with 2.4% in February.
- The March CPI increase was the largest monthly rise since June 2022.
- Energy prices rose sharply in March and were a major driver of the overall inflation increase.
- Gasoline prices rose 21.2% in March, the largest monthly increase in that index since 1967.
- Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2% in March and 2.6% from a year earlier.
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Context
What drove the jump in inflation in March?
The main driver cited across reports was energy, especially gasoline. Reuters, CNBC and CBS said the Iran conflict disrupted oil markets and pushed up fuel costs, which then lifted the overall CPI reading Yahoo! Finance,CNBC,CBS News.
What is core CPI, and what did it show?
Core CPI excludes food and energy prices and is often used to gauge underlying inflation trends. In March, it rose 0.2% from the prior month and 2.6% from a year earlier, much less than headline CPI, indicating the biggest pressure came from energy-related prices CNBC,Yahoo! Finance,WSJ.
Why does this report matter for the Federal Reserve?
Several reports said the hotter headline inflation reading reduced expectations for near-term interest-rate cuts, even though core inflation was more contained. Reuters and Bloomberg both said the data diminished or trimmed the chances of a Fed rate cut this year Yahoo! Finance,Bloomberg Business.
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