Inflation peaked, stocks plunged, gold and oil prices stood up

Excluding food and energy prices, core CPI last month increased by 6.5% year-on-year and by 0.3% month-on-month, lower than the 0.5% expected by economists. of Dow Jones forecast. “The key piece of information in the March report is that core inflationary pressures finally appear to have leveled off,” said Andrew Hunter, senior US economist at Capital Economics. Mr. Hunter said that the increase in March “marked the peak” of inflation.

The consumer price index (CPI) in March increased by 8.5% year-on-year. Photo: Reuters

Ms. Lael Brainard, governor of the US Federal Reserve (FED), said that the slowdown in core CPI is a good sign in efforts to control inflation.

Meanwhile, Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at financial research consulting firm Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “Overall, the report is encouraging, although it is too early to say for certain. core CPI will decrease in the following months. We believe they will, but the rate of decline is what matters.”

Gold prices rebounded after the inflation report. Photo: Reuters

In response to the report that inflation was at its highest since 1981, key US stock market indexes plunged. The S&P 500 index fell 0.34% to 4,397.45 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.30% to 13,371.57 points in trading on April 12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.26% to 34,220.36 points at the close of the same day.

Investors fear that high inflation data in March will prompt the Fed to tighten monetary policy further. Previously, the Fed raised interest rates at its meeting in March and is expected to increase many more times in 2022. Finance professor Jeremy Siegel at the Wharton School told CNBC that inflation will continue to increase in “many months to come”.

Meanwhile, uncertainty in the oil market continued on April 12, with crude oil prices soaring above $100 a barrel on concerns about supply disruptions from Russia and signs of China easing orders. blockade against the Covid-19 epidemic. The world gold price also hit the level of 1,978 USD/ounce in the trading session on April 12.