Soaring gas prices are expected to produce a spike in inflation when the government reports consumer prices for March on Friday, likely unnerving the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve and heightening the political challenges of rising costs for the White House.
Inflation probably rose to 3.4% in March compared with a year ago, economists estimate, which would be a sharp increase from February's 2.4% increase. On a monthly basis, prices are forecast to have risen 0.9% in March from the previous month, according to a survey of economists by data provider FactSet. That would be largest monthly increase since 2022.
