{"text":[[{"start":12,"text":"US inflation jumped to 3.8 per cent in April, its highest level in three years, as President Donald Trump’s war in Iran triggered a surge in petrol prices that has inflamed America’s cost of living crisis. "}],[{"start":26.6,"text":"The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index has risen sharply since the conflict began. It had already increased from 2.4 per cent in February to 3.3 per cent in March versus a year earlier."}],[{"start":38.85,"text":"Tuesday’s figure was above Wall Street expectations and marks the first time in three years inflation has outstripped wage growth. "}],[{"start":46.95,"text":"The last time prices rose this quickly was in 2023 as the country reeled from the energy shock triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine."}],[{"start":56.800000000000004,"text":"The report is the latest indicator of how the Iran conflict is reverberating across the world’s biggest economy, with higher fuel costs increasingly spilling into other sectors. It will pile pressure on Trump, whose popularity is near record lows as the war exerts a heavy toll on American households. "}],[{"start":75.30000000000001,"text":"“The war in Iran is real,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG US. “And not only is it affecting prices at the pump, those increases in things like diesel are now showing up . . . at the grocery store.”"}],[{"start":88.65,"text":"“This is more than an energy shock. It is a supply chain shock that echoes the disruptions we saw during the pandemic,” she added. “And due to that, it’s got very long legs.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":99.10000000000001,"text":"The energy crisis sparked by the Iran war has become increasingly visible in the US, where petrol prices have jumped by more than half since the conflict erupted, reaching $4.50 a gallon on Tuesday, according to the AAA. "}],[{"start":114.2,"text":"Diesel — a crucial input for American industry — has risen by a similar margin to $5.64, close to its all-time high. "}],[{"start":123.2,"text":"That has created a problem for Trump, with about 58 per cent of voters disapproving of his handling of inflation and the cost of living, according to a recent FT poll. The president on Monday called for a suspension of federal fuel taxes to provide relief to motorists."}],[{"start":138.55,"text":"Fading hopes for an imminent peace deal have pushed up crude prices once more in recent days after Trump on Monday warned a month-long ceasefire was now on “life support”. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 3.7 per cent in early New York trading on Tuesday to $108 a barrel. Wholesale US gasoline prices also traded near the highest levels of the war."}],[{"start":161.35000000000002,"text":"Trump on Tuesday sought to frame the rise in inflation as a reasonable cost of his efforts to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons — one of the primary aims of the conflict."}],[{"start":172.95000000000002,"text":"“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran [is that] they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, I don’t think about anybody, I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all. That’s the only thing that motivates me,” he told reporters."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":190.35000000000002,"text":"Tuesday’s BLS report showed prices at the pump gained 28.4 per cent year on year. Airfares, hit by higher jet-fuel costs, were up 20.7 per cent. "}],[{"start":202.3,"text":"Food prices also rose sharply, as higher energy costs seep into other sectors. The cost of buying food at the grocery store was up 2.9 per cent, its highest level since 2023. Fruit and vegetables added 6.1 per cent. "}],[{"start":218.15,"text":"A number of bigger-ticket consumer goods categories also rose in price, signalling to economists that the inflationary effects of the war are widening. "}],[{"start":226.6,"text":"“In today’s data, we were looking for whether high costs of energy are percolating to price increases in other sectors,” said Atsi Sheth, chief credit officer at rating agency Moody’s. “And indeed, food and airline fares rose, as did some consumer products like apparel and home furnishings.”"}],[{"start":245.79999999999998,"text":"Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, edged up to 2.8 per cent, from 2.6 per cent the previous month, driven in part by a statistical quirk related to last year’s government shutdown."}],[{"start":258.5,"text":"Treasury yields were higher on the day, also tracking the rise in oil prices. The two-year yield, which moves with monetary policy expectations, was up 0.04 percentage points at 3.99 per cent, but briefly topped 4 per cent for the first time in six weeks."}],[{"start":275.2,"text":"“Markets had already priced out rate cuts for 2026 heading into the report, and nothing in the data suggests rate hikes are back on the table,” said Tim Urbanowicz, chief investment strategist at Innovator ETFs from Goldman Sachs Asset Management."}],[{"start":291.65,"text":"Additional reporting by Lauren Fedor in Washington "}],[{"start":305.34999999999997,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778631769_9660.mp3"}