Consumer prices spike in March as Russia-Ukraine war fueled inflation

Consumer prices rose 1.2 percent in March and 8.5 percent over the past 12 months as the war in Ukraine drove inflation even higher, according to data released Tuesday by the Labor Department.

The Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI), which tracks inflation, spiked in March as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered sharp price increases across the global economy. The March annual increase in inflation was the fastest since December 1981.