US consumer inflation cools to 2.4% in March

U.S. consumer inflation was cooled last month with a plunge in gas prices as consumers and businesses were nervously waiting for President Donald Trump’s drastic tariffs to come into effect, government data issued Wednesday.

Last week, US leaders announced 50% and 50% taxes on imports from certain countries, causing the stock market to fall and earn bond yields.

Ahead of the dramatic market movements associated with these taxes, the consumer price index (CPI) has cooled to 2.4% in March from a year ago, the Labor Department said in a statement – lower than economists’ estimates.

Every month, inflation actually signed 0.1% of the month ago.

“The energy index fell 2.4% in March, with the gasoline index down 6.3%, up from an increase in offsets in electricity and natural gas indicators,” the Labor Department explained a slight drop in prices each month.

The food index rose 0.4% in March. Excluding unstable food and energy costs, inflation rose 0.1% in March of the previous year, and 2.8% over the past 12 months. This was “the smallest 12-month increase since March 2021,” the Labor Bureau said. It is also below the median economists estimates examined by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.