US consumer inflation annually rises 3.5% in March, monthly up 0.4%; both above expectations

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Consumer inflation in the US annually rose 3.5% in March, and monthly up 0.4%, both coming in above market expectations, according to figures released Wednesday.

The consumer price index (CPI), which measures changes in the prices of goods and services from a consumer's perspective, was expected to show an annual gain of 3.4% after rising 3.2% in February year-on-year.

The figure, however, is a sharp decline from the 9.1% annual gain recorded in July 2022, which was the largest since November 1981.

The CPI rose 0.4% in March, compared to the previous month, while expectations for the figure were to show a gain of 0.3%.

The figure showed a monthly increase of 0.4% in February.

"The index for shelter rose in March, as did the index for gasoline. Combined, these two indexes contributed over half of the monthly increase in the index for all items," the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a statement.

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, gained 0.4% in March from the previous month, also coming higher than estimates of 0.3%, after rising 0.4% in February.

Annually, core CPI climbed 3.8% in March, also higher than the expectation of 3.7%, following a 3.8% year-on-year gain in February.