Hot prices: Infla­tion rose to 3.5% in March in bad news for Biden and Fed

Infla­tion rose to 3.5% for the year end­ing in March, the Bureau of Labor Sta­tis­tics report­ed Wednes­day in an update to the con­sumer price index.
The rise in head­line infla­tion is more than expect­ed and an unwel­come devel­op­ment for the Fed­er­al Reserve, which has been aim­ing to move toward cut­ting inter­est rates in the com­ing months. It’s also bad news for Pres­i­dent Joe Biden. The White House has been empha­siz­ing recent declines in infla­tion, along­side the robust labor mar­ket, as “Bide­nomics” in action.
The Fed has worked to dri­ve down infla­tion for two years now by rais­ing inter­est rates. Wednesday’s report casts uncer­tain­ty over the tim­ing of the Fed begin­ning to trim rates.
On a month-to-month basis, infla­tion rose 0.4%, more than expe …