1) US inflation expected to rise 8.4% in March
Economists and analysts expected the U.S. inflation to rise at an annual rate of 8.4% in March, much higher than 7.9% in February and would be the fastest pace since the early 1980s. Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Citi and Goldman are among financial firms that expected inflation to rise higher than the consensus at 8.6%.
The data is scheduled to be released on April 12, 2022.
2) White House expects significant rise due to Putin’s price hike
“We expect March CPI headline inflation to be extraordinarily elevated due to Putin’s price hike,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
She said that the Labor Department’s previous report for inflation in February did not include the majority of the jump in oil and gas costs caused by the invasion of Russia in Ukraine.
“We expect a large difference between core and headline inflation,” she added, “reflecting the global disruptions in energy and food markets.”
Energy prices rose to near record high in March as Great Nations and others jointly sanctioned Russia in response to its military advance in Ukraine.
3) US tells staff to leave Shanghai amid surging Covid cases
The U.S. State Department has ordered all non-emergency government staff and their family members in Shanghai to evacuate amid surging Covid-19 cases.
Shanghai is easing its partial lockdown restrictions in some areas despite reporting a record of more than 25,000 new COVID-19 infections.
Earlier, the department had issued a travel advisory warning its citizens on “arbitrary enforcement of local laws” and Covid-19 restrictions in China.
