The US Labor Department said on Tuesday that its consumer price index soared 8.5% in March from 12 months earlier, the sharpest year-over-year increase since 1981. The surge was driven by continuing supply-chain problems, soaring demand and rising energy prices, it said.
Statistics showed that the monthly rise was 1.2%, the fastest jump since September 2005 and a sharp acceleration from February’s 0.8% increase.
US authorities are blaming the surging prices on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with President Joe Biden saying on Monday: “I am doing everything within my executive power to bring down the Putin price hike.”