The U.S. inflation rate is still high as consumer prices increased by 8.5% last month, compared with the same month last years. Metrics show the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) spiked last month at the fastest pace since December 1981.
Inflation Continues to Hammer the US Economy — White House Blames Putin
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest data shows an increase in inflation month-over-month. BLS published the organization’s latest CPI numbers and inflation has spiked a great deal since last year. The latest CPI data shows that consumer prices rose to 8.5% in March, according to BLS.
The data follows February’s CPI numbers which showed a 7.9% annual increase in February. Last month’s annual rise was 0.8% higher than the year prior, while March saw a 1.2% jump. According to a Bloomberg data report, “consensus economists” expected an 8.4% increase for March.
Just before the CPI data was released, the White House said that it expected inflation to be “extraordinarily elevated.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki blamed the inflation on Vladimir Putin and Russia when she said: “We expect March CPI headline inflation to be extraordinarily elevated due to Putin’s price hike.”
Peter Schiff, economist and Gold Bug will be speaking Tuesday. toldHe assured his 686.700 Twitter followers that inflation would not be temporary. “The 8.5% YoY gain in March CPI is the highest since 1981, when interest rates were 20% & CPI was 13.5%,” Schiff tweeted. “Current interest rates are .25%, and using the 1981 CPI the YoY gain is likely 17%. With real rates negative 16.75% now, versus positive 6.5% then, inflation is here to stay.”
On April 8, 2022, northmantrader.com’s Sven Henrich wrote:
We’re now entering the part of the monetary experiment where even millionaires feel poor.
Only a few economists expect an inflation peak soon
Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics thinks the March increase will “mark the peak” for inflation. “The big news in the March report was that core price pressures finally appear to be moderating,” Hunter said in a note sent to CNBC.
Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics told CNBC in the same report that the latest BLS CPI data is “encouraging.” “Overall, this report is encouraging, at the margin, though it is far too soon to be sure that the next few core prints will be as low; much depends on the path of used vehicle prices, which is very hard to forecast with confidence,” Shepherdson remarked. “We’re sure they will fall, but the speed of the decline is what matters.”
CNN was told by Joe Brusuelas (RSM US’ chief economist), that March may have seen a near-peak in inflation. “Yes, inflation may soon find its peak. However, that does not imply significant relief is on the way in the near term,”
How do you feel about inflation in America rising at an unprecedented rate since 1981? Comment below and let us know how you feel about the subject.
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