BlackRock says Middle East war to pressure US March CPI

BlackRock strategists said in a report that the impact of high oil prices is likely to be reflected in the U.S. March Consumer Price Index (CPI), scheduled for release on April 10. They expect supply chain bottlenecks due to the war in the Middle East to push inflation higher. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) forecast that the annual, non-seasonally adjusted U.S. CPI for March will rise to 3.3% from 2.4% in February.