Since 28 February when the Iran War began, Americans have spent $45 billion more on gasoline and diesel fuel than they would have if fuel prices had remained at pre-war levels, according to data from the U.S. government and the Oil Price Information Service.
In March, U.S. inflation jumped 0.5 percent from February to an annual rate of 3.3 percent, the U.S. commerce department reported. Core inflation – which filters out the costs of energy and food – rose to an annual rate of 2.6 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As we continually note, there is no connection between Wall Street and Main Street.
Last week, the U.S. national average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed to 6.46 percent, rising from 6.38 percent the week before to its highest level since September.
In February, U.S. retail sales made their largest month-on-month gain since August, rising 0.6 percent.
The energy price surge set off by the Iran War will drive U.S. inflation to 4.2 percent this year, the highest among G7 nations, according to a projection by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
In February, the annual U.S. headline inflation rate was 2.4 percent, the same as in January, the U.S. labor department reported. Core inflation, which ignores food and energy costs, was paced at 2.5 percent, aligned with economists’ expectations.
Prices for consumer goods in China increased 1.3 percent in February, year on year, from January’s 0.2 rise.
The U.S. economy expanded by 1.4 percent in 2025’s final quarter, barely half of the 2.5 percent forecast by Dow Jones.
In 2025, U.S. electricity prices rose 6.9 percent, compared to inflation’s pace of 2.9 percent, Goldman Sachs analysts have calculated. The price of power will continue escalating as artificial intelligence (AI) data centers make up 40 percent of growth in U.S. electricity demand through the rest of this decade, they said. Electricity production is growing......