Prices popped once again in March, with the latest consumer price index showing a 1.2 percent month-over-month increase and 8.5 percent increase from a year ago, which was the highest reading since 1981.
With war raging in Ukraine and COVID-19 shutdowns wracking large parts of Asia, the jump was expected, though economists were watching closely for signs of a peak.
One data point suggesting prices could be leveling off was the core inflation reading, which cuts out volatile food and energy prices. The measure was up 0.3 percent year-over-year, lower than the consensus estimate of half a percent. In addition, used car prices, which have skyrocketed over the pandemic, declined by 3.8 percent.
"The March report shows some moderation in core CPI, month over month," said Mace McCain, the president and CIO at Frost Investment Advisors, in a statement. "However, we expect continued price pressure due to the lockdowns in China as the supply chain struggles to normalize."
The gasoline index, meanwhile, was up 18.3 percent in March and 48 percent from a year ago, contributing half of the total increase for the month.
The report was the first to fully capture the impact of the war in Ukraine, which has sent commodity prices soaring and created jitters throughout financial markets globally.
"The Russia-Ukraine war has added further fuel to the blazing rate of inflation via higher energy, food, and commodity prices that are turbocharged by a worsening in supply chain problems," wrote Kathy Bostjancic, chief US financial economist for Oxford Economics. "This will lead to a higher near-term peak in inflation and a slow descent through 2022."
Shelter prices were up a half a percentage point, and food prices were up 1 percent for the month.
Darden, the parent company of chain restaurants like Olive Garden and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, beat Wall Street estimates in its latest earnings report.
A former Facebook executive pled guilty to stealing more than $4 million from the company while she was employed there.
Rising safety concerns over water bead products marketed to kids have prompted major retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart to pull some toys off their shelves.
The Congressional Budget Office said Friday it expects inflation to nearly hit the Federal Reserve's 2% target rate in 2024, as overall growth is expected to slow and unemployment is expected to rise into 2025, according to updated economic projections for the next two years.
Intel is out with a new product to challenge other big players in the space like Nvidia and AMD.
Stocks fell after the opening bell Friday but will end on another positive week.
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Americans picked up their spending from October to November as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring that shoppers still have power to keep buying.
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate dropped below 7% to its lowest level since early August, another boost for prospective homebuyers who have largely been held back by sharply higher borrowing costs and heightened competition for relatively few homes for sale.
Mortgage rates have dropped below 7% for the first time since the middle of August.
