UPDATE - US consumer inflation annually rises 3.5% in March, monthly up 0.4%; both above expectations

UPDATES WITH PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S COMMENTS

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Consumer inflation in the US annually rose 3.5% in March, and monthly up 0.4%, both coming in above market expectations, according to figures released Wednesday.

The consumer price index (CPI), which measures changes in the prices of goods and services from a consumer's perspective, was expected to show an annual gain of 3.4% after rising 3.2% in February year-on-year.

The figure, however, is a sharp decline from the 9.1% annual gain recorded in July 2022, which was the largest since November 1981.

The CPI rose 0.4% in March, compared to the previous month, while expectations for the figure were to show a gain of 0.3%.

The figure showed a monthly increase of 0.4% in February.

"The index for shelter rose in March, as did the index for gasoline. Combined, these two indexes contributed over half of the monthly increase in the index for all items," the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a statement.

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, gained 0.4% in March from the previous month, also coming higher than estimates of 0.3%, after rising 0.4% in February.

Annually, core CPI climbed 3.8% in March, also higher than the expectation of 3.7%, following a 3.8% year-on-year gain in February.

President Joe Biden said the recent figures show that inflation has fallen more than 60% from its peak, but his administration has more to do to lower costs for American families.

"Prices are still too high for housing and groceries, even as prices for key household items like milk and eggs are lower than a year ago," he said in a statement released by the White House.

"I have a plan to lower costs for housing—by building and renovating more than 2 million homes—and I’m calling on corporations including grocery retailers to use record profits to reduce prices," he added.

Biden stressed that fighting inflation remains his top economic priority, and added that his administration is making progress as wages are rising faster than prices, incomes are higher than before the coronavirus pandemic, and unemployment rate remains below 4%.