Inflation Jumps 3.8 Percent as Iran War Pushes Up Energy Costs

The Consumer Price Index report published Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed 3.8 percent year-over-year (YOY) inflation for the month of April, the highest since May 2023, as energy costs rose 17.9 percent for the same period.

The energy shock brought about by the war in Iran and Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed oil and gasoline prices higher. Since the beginning of the conflict, the national average for gasoline prices has risen from around $3.00 before the war began in late February to $4.50 Tuesday morning. Brent crude has risen 44.2 percent to $107. 

Consumer price inflation excluding volatile items like food and energy, often subject to non-monetary shocks like the Iran war, continued to hover at 2.8 percent YOY. This remains above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent inflation YOY, a pattern which has persisted since March 2021.

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