Inflation in the United States has fallen below 3% for the first time in 4 years.

Inflation has just fallen below 3% for the first time in four years. This is direct information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it was reported on Thursday as Donald Trump prepares to launch a new round of tariffs against U.S. trading partners. The March figures were lower than anyone’s expectations. Price growth not only slowed down but also slipped straight down. The consumer price index, which tracks daily costs, fell by 0.1% in March after seasonal adjustment. That 0.1% decrease has pulled the 12-month inflation rate up to 2.4%. This is a strong change and means that things are not becoming expensive as quickly as before. But let’s not pretend that everything is cheap. Certain prices are still rising, just not enough to stop the overall rate from falling. Inflation outlook: Gas and housing prices change as food prices rise Energy costs are most affected. Gasoline prices have fallen sharply—down 6.3% in March. This decline played a significant role in the overall 2.4% drop in the energy index. Cheaper gasoline has created room for inflation data. That’s how the headline number falls even as other things like food continue to rise. Monthly food prices increased by 0.4%. Eggs again led that increase. They rose by 5.9% in just one month. Compared to last year, egg prices are still crazy - up 60.4% compared to March 2024. Housing prices have not fallen, but they have not increased much either. Rent, mortgage, and housing-related costs only rose by 0.2% in March. This is one of the smallest increases we have seen in housing, which typically does not change much unless something significant happens. Over the past year, housing prices have still increased by 4%, but this increase is smaller than most months in recent years. Now let’s look at cars. The price of used cars has fallen by 0.7%. The price of new cars has hardly changed—only rising by 0.1%. All of this is happening before the anticipated hit from Trump’s tariffs. Once those hits take effect, the car market could change rapidly. For now, everything remains calm before the storm. The core inflation rate tells a slightly different story. It is the rate that excludes food and energy prices. This is useful because food and fuel tend to fluctuate wildly. In March, core inflation only increased by 0.1%. On a year-over-year basis, core prices rose by 2.8%. This is the lowest year-over-year increase since March 2021. This is a big issue. Core prices do not usually fall quickly, especially when food and fuel fluctuate erratically. Therefore, the tax rate of 2.8% indicates that even difficult items like rent and medical costs are not rising as quickly as before.