The Labor
Department announced on Wednesday the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) climbed
0.4 per cent m-o-m in March, the
same pace as in the previous
month.
Over the last
12 months, the CPI soared by 3.5 per cent y-o-y, accelerating from an
unrevised gain of 3.2 per cent y-o-y reported for the period ending in February. This marked the strongest 12-month increase since September 2023 (+3.7 per cent y-o-y).
Economists had expected
the U.S. CPI to rise by 0.3 per cent m-o-m and 3.4 per cent y-o-y.
According to
the report, the index for shelter (+0.4 per cent m-o-m) and the index for
gasoline (+1.7 per cent m-o-m) both jumped in February, contributing over half
of the monthly gain in the index for all items. Meanwhile, the food index (+0.1
per cent m-o-m) demonstrated a marginal increase.
The core CPI,
excluding volatile food and fuel costs, grew by 0.4 per cent m-o-m in March, the same
pace as in the previous month.
In the 12
months through March, the core CPI surged by 3.8 per cent, at a similar pace as
in the 12-month period ending in February.
Economists
had forecast the core CPI to advance by 0.3 per cent m-o-m and 3.7 per cent
y-o-y in March.