The surge in oil and gasoline prices last week amid the Iran conflict has darkened the inflation outlook. It is coming at a time when the outlook was already more confused than usual.

Core Viewpoint - The rise in energy prices is complicating the inflation landscape due to an unusual divergence between two key measures of consumer costs [1] Group 1 - Energy prices are increasing, which is impacting overall inflation metrics [1] - There is a notable divergence between two key gauges of consumer costs, indicating a complex inflation scenario [1]