Consumer prices rose 8.5% in March compared to 2021, the biggest surge in 40 years as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to drive energy prices up and lawmakers attempt to reel in runaway prices, according to a Tuesday (April 12) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Prices rose 1.2% in March compared with February following hopes that inflation was on a monthly decline. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine added to China’s shuttering of factories due to new COVID-19 infections resulting in dashed expectations.
“The expectation going into this year was that we would basically see inflation peaking in the first quarter, then maybe leveling out,” Fed Chairman Jerome H. Powell said in March. “That story has already fallen apart. To the extent that it continues to fall apart, my colleagues and I may well reach the conclusion that we’ll need to move more quickly.”
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The indexes for gasoline, shelter, and food added the most to the seasonally adjusted all items increase. The gasoline index went up 18.3% in March and accounted for over half of the all items monthly increase. The food index increased 1.0% and the food at home index rose 1.5%.
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.3% following an increase of 0.5% increase the previous month.
The shelter index contributed the biggest bump, with other indexes also contributing — airline fares, household furnishings and operations, medical care, and motor vehicle insurance.
The index for used cars and trucks dropped 3.8% over the month.
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