More bad inflation news. According to a new report on the US Consumer Price Index, prices jumped 8.5 percent from the beginning of 2022 to March, the highest rate since 1981.
The worsening shift is propelled in part by supply chain issues, skyrocketing energy prices, and rising rent, gas, and food. It’s up from the 7.9 percent in February—the fastest pace in 40 years.
Gas inflated to the greatest degree, with the index rising 18.3 percent in March.
The one piece of good news is that inflation’s pace has slowed, from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent from February to March.
Still, the forecast isn’t looking good, and encouraging indicators are few and far between.