US consumer inflation hot in March amid record surge in gasoline prices

U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in nearly four years in March as the war with Iran led to a record surge in the cost of gasoline and diesel, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump whose approval ratings have been falling because ​of unhappiness over his handling of the economy.

Though the Consumer Price Index report from the Labor Department on Friday showed an underlying measure of inflation that excludes the volatile food and energy components rising moderately last month, economists ‌said that was because March's data only captured the initial effects of the oil price shock, with second-round effects expected in the months ahead.