Inflation in the US accelerated last month to its highest rate in nearly two years, as surging oil prices triggered by the US-Israel war in Iran started to spill over into the wider economy.
Consumer prices climbed 3.3% over the 12 months to March, picking up from 2.4% in February, the Labor Department said.
The jump, which was expected, marked the biggest monthly change since 2022, when the world was dealing with an energy shock brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last month’s increase was driven by a spike in prices at the pump, as the war’s shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz sent oil prices soaring.
Annel Villegas, 23, said the cost was “terrible”, using an expletive for emphasis.
“I drive a truck, so I fill it up every half tank, and now it’s like, $70 (£52), $80,” she said, adding that she had tried to limit her driving as much as possible due to the jump in gas prices.
Still, she said: “I have to do what I have to do to live …. I’m just dealing with whatever it brings to me – so, paying more.”
Gas prices rose 21.2% from February to March – the biggest monthly increase since the government started tracking the figures in 1967. Prices for fuel oil jumped more than 30% in the biggest surge since February 2000.
