US: Inflation surges to a three-year high.

VTV.vn - Price pressures in the US escalated sharply in April 2026, reaching their highest level since 2023.

Consumers shop at a supermarket in the US. Photo: Ngoc Quang/VNA correspondent in the US.

According to data released by the US government on May 28, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index – the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation – surged 3.8% in April 2026 compared to the same period last year. This is the fastest annual increase recorded since 2023, higher than the 3.5% increase in March.

The core PCE index (excluding volatile food and energy prices) also recorded a 3.3% increase during the same period. Analysts believe these figures perfectly match the forecasts of Wall Street economists , indicating that the repercussions of the conflict in the Middle East have begun to heavily impact the wallets of American consumers.

The direct cause of the surge in inflation is the jump in energy costs. After the US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran in late February 2026, the Gulf nation retaliated by blockading the Strait of Hormuz – a vital shipping lane for global energy. This supply disruption caused gasoline prices in the US to skyrocket, creating widespread inflationary pressure.

In a separate report released the same day, the U.S. Commerce Department lowered its forecast for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the first quarter of 2026. Specifically, the world's largest economy achieved an annual growth rate of only 1.6% in the first three months of the year, lower than the preliminary estimate of 2.0% released last month.

The agency explained that the 0.4 percentage point downward revision mainly reflects the weakening of business investment and consumer spending. Although first-quarter GDP is still strong compared to the 0.5% growth projected for the fourth quarter of 2025, experts are concerned about the sustainability of this trend.

Many analysts warn that the US economy is currently overly reliant on the wave of artificial intelligence (AI) investment to sustain its growth, while consumers are showing signs of exhaustion due to rising commodity prices.

Source: https://vtv.vn/my-lam-phat-vot-len-muc-cao-nhat-trong-3-nam-10026052911144902.htm