Gas Prices Drive a Big Spike in Inflation

The new inflation report is out, and it's as rough as expected: Prices jumped, driven largely by soaring gasoline and energy prices amid the Iran war:

• Consumer prices rose 3.3% in March from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Friday, up sharply from just 2.4% in February, per the AP.
• On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.9% in March from February, the largest such increase in nearly four years.

• Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.6% in March from a year earlier, up from 2.5% in February. But last month, core prices rose a modest 0.2%, suggesting that the gas price shock hasn't yet spread to many other categories. Energy prices spiked 10.9% for the month.
• Markets expected the bump and were largely unfazed, with investors apparently more focused on the weekend's peace talks. Dow futures were up about 15 points immediately after the report's release, per CNBC.