Consumer inflation in the United States hit a three-year high in April, government data showed on Tuesday, with the economic fallout of the Iran war rippling through the world's largest economy.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.8 percent year-on-year, up from March's 3.3 percent figure, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said.

The US-Israel war on Iran has engulfed the Middle East in violence, with Iranian retaliatory action targeting Washington's regional allies and virtually blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

Roughly a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas passes through the waterway under normal circumstances, and the blockade has sent worldwide energy prices surging.

In April, the US price index for energy rose 17.9 percent compared to a year ago, BLS data showed, by far the largest price jump for any category.

Food prices were up 3.2 percent in April over last year, the data showed.

Core CPI inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, came in at 2.8 percent in April, up from 2.6 percent the month before.

US consumers have been battered by years of higher-than-expected inflation, with policymakers struggling to achieve price stability more than five years after the pandemic began.

The US Federal Reserve has a long-term 2 percent target for inflation and several policymakers at the central bank have indicated the possible need for interest rate hikes to address rising prices. (AFP)



Edited by Edmond Fong