Michael McKee

What moved it all?

Well, as I mentioned.

Gasoline prices, and you're not going to be surprised, they went up 21.2% in the month of March, and they kept going.

So this is going to continue into the April CPI.

Airfare, same reason, 2.7%, and fuel is going to be more expensive in April as well.

Well, we're seeing the war come home as CPI on a headline basis comes in up nine-tenths for the month as forecast, and that pushes the year-over-year

to 3.3%.

Remember, it was 2.4% in February, so a big jump.

The core comes in up two-tenths on the month.

It takes a while for stuff to get into the core, so that's not a surprise, although it's a little lower than anticipated.

The CPI core for the year

2.6%.

The index for energy, they say, rose 10.9%.

Take a guess what gasoline went up.

21.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor statistic.

That accounts for three quarters of the entire increase here.

The Iran war shows up in the data as higher prices for gasoline, truck and rail transportation and other goods boost the consumer price index by the most since 2022.

Gas will see the biggest move.

The average retail price tracked by AAA went from $2.98 a gallon on February 28th to $4.06 by the end of March.

That, in turn, raises the cost of goods delivered by truck and train.