The consumer price index rose 0.4 percent in March compared with the previous month. Compared with 12 months earlier, the headline index is up 3.5 percent.
Economists had forecast a 0.3 percent increase in the month-t0-month figure and a 3.4 percent rise over 12 months.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.4 percent for the month, matching the prior month and higher than the 0.3 percent expected. Compared with a year ago, core inflation is up 3.8 percent, also beating expectations and matching the February figure.
When the consumer price index jumped higher in January, many analysts said it was likely a seasonal anomaly and forecast inflation would soon start falling again. After three months of hotter-than-expected inflation, that is no longer a plausible interpretation. Over the last three months, core inflation has risen at a 4.6 percent annual rate. That is the highest three-month annualized inflation for any period between August 1991 and 2020, according to Harvard economist Jason Furman.
