Consumer inflation in the United States hit a three-year high in April, government data showed Tuesday, with the economic fallout of the Iran war rippling through the world’s largest economy.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.8 per cent year-on-year, up from March’s 3.3 per cent figure, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics said.
The US-Israel war on Iran has engulfed the Middle East in violence, with Iranian retaliatory action targeting Washington’s regional allies and virtually blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passes through the waterway under normal circumstances, and the blockade has sent worldwide energy prices surging.
READ ALSO: US Inflation Surges 3.3% As Iran War Impact Bites
In April, the US price index for energy rose 17.9 per cent compared to a year ago, BLS data showed, by far the largest price jump for any category.
Food prices were up 3.2 per cent in April over last year, the data showed.
Core consumer price index (CPI) inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, came in at 2.8 per cent in April, up from 2.6 per cent the month before.
US consumers have been battered by years of higher-than-expected inflation, with policymakers struggling to achieve price stability more than five years after the pandemic began.
The US Federal Reserve has a long-term two per cent target for inflation, and several policymakers at the central bank have indicated the possible need for interest rate hikes to address rising prices.
AFP
