Newly released government data shows that U.S. inflation climbed sharply amid the war in Iran, which has led to a spike in global energy prices.
The Consumer Price Index for March revealed that inflation is up 3.3 percent compared to this time last year, meaning prices are 3.3 percent higher year-over-year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Prices leapt 0.9 percent from February, three times the pace seen in January.
Economists had been bracing for a significant uptick in inflation as a result of the Middle East conflict, which began when the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28.
Before this week’s ceasefire announcement, oil prices had surged dramatically, hovering around $100 per barrel, while the average cost of a gallon of gasoline climbed above $5. The fuel price surges are largely attributed to Iran’s de facto blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trade artery through which 20 percent of the world’s oil flows.
Experts had warned that these surges would quickly ripple through the broader economy, pushing up the costs of groceries, air travel and shipping.
“We’ll definitely see elevated prices eating away at people’s paychecks,” Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, told CNN.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration began ramping up its messaging on affordability ahead of the midterm elections. “If [Democrats] seize power, they will spend every minute trying to ‘turn back the clock’ to Record Inflation,” the president wrote on Truth Social last month.
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