Data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on the 12th local time showed that the U.S. consumer price index rose 1.2% month-on-month in March and 8.5% year-on-year. The year-on-year increase was the highest since December 1981.

On April 12, local time, a car passed by a price sign at a gas station in San Mateo County, California, USA. Photo by China News Service reporter Liu Guanguan

China News Service Washington, April 12 (Reporter Sha Hanting) Data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on the 12th local time showed that the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1.2% month-on-month in March. , a year-on-year increase of 8.5%. The year-on-year increase was the highest since December 1981. Data from

shows that after excluding volatile food and energy prices, core CPI rose 0.3% month-on-month in March, a 0.2 percentage point narrower than February; it increased 6.5% year-on-year, the highest since August 1982.

On April 12, local time, Americans were shopping in a supermarket in San Mateo County, California. Photo by China News Service reporter Liu Guanguan

Specifically, affected by the surge in international oil prices caused by the conflict in Russia and Ukraine, U.S. energy prices increased by 11% month-on-month and 32% year-on-year. Among them, gasoline prices increased by 18.3% month-on-month and 48% year-on-year; fuel oil prices increased by 22.3% month-on-month and increased sharply by 70.1% year-on-year. Food prices increased by 1% month-on-month and 8.8% year-on-year, the largest year-on-year increase since May 1981. Housing costs, which account for about one-third of the CPI, rose 0.5% month-on-month and 5% year-on-year, the largest increase since May 1991.

In addition, the price of second-hand cars, which has been driving CPI growth before, fell by 3.8% month-on-month in March, but still increased by 35.3% year-on-year.

Analysts believe that due to the continued impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its subsequent effects, and the continued supply chain disruption caused by the epidemic, the US inflation level is unlikely to fall back to the 2% target set by the Federal Reserve in the short term. level. However, some experts believe that the core CPI increased by only 0.3% month-on-month in March, the smallest increase in six months, which may indicate that US inflation has peaked in March.

In response to inflation, the Federal Reserve announced an interest rate hike 25 basis points in March. However, as inflation remains high, the market generally predicts that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates by 50 basis points in May. (End)

Source: China News Network