Economists Predict Iran Conflict to Push U.S. Inflation Above 3% and Impact Jobs and Growth

As the conflict in Iran pushes up fuel costs, economists have raised their expectations for U.S. inflation by the end of the year while lowering forecasts for consumption, growth, and employment. According to the latest Bloomberg monthly survey of economists, the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index is now expected to average a 3.1% increase this year, up from the previous estimate of 2.6%. While this is primarily driven by rising oil prices, respondents also anticipate that the core measure, excluding food and energy costs, will see a higher increase than previously projected.