April 10, 2026 11:20 AM UTC

Inflation Reaches Highest Level in 4 Years; Consumer Confidence Hits Record Low

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• by: Colorado Pols

As The New York Times (and every other news outlet) reports today, inflation is rocketing upward at levels we haven’t seen in four years:

The Consumer Price Index report showed that inflation jumped to 3.3 percent compared with the same time last year, almost a full percentage point increase from February’s annual pace. Overall prices rose 0.9 percent over the course of March, the highest monthly gain since the peak of the post-pandemic inflation crisis in June 2022.

Inflation increases have been fueled (pun intended) by a dramatic rise in gas prices:

Americans are now paying around 40 percent more for gasoline compared with late February, $4.15 per gallon on average, according to AAA. Shipping companies, food delivery services and airlines have added new surcharges and fees to cover mounting costs.

The overall energy index in the latest C.P.I. report rose nearly 11 percent, led by a 21 percent surge in gasoline prices. That alone accounted for nearly three-quarters of the monthly increase in prices in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fuel oil increased at an even faster pace, by 30.7 percent over the month. Other motor fuels, which mostly include diesel, jumped 30.8 percent.

The cost of travel has also jumped significantly, with airfares up 2.7 percent in March and nearly 15 percent from a year earlier. Grocery prices did not make a big leap, fortunately, but that’s likely to change in April because disruptions in the natural gas market have dramatically increased the cost of fertilizer.

As CNN notes, consumer confidence has reached the lowest level ever recorded:

The University of Michigan’s latest consumer survey released Friday showed that sentiment declined 11% early this month to a reading of 47.6, lower than anything seen in the post World War II era, including during the Great Recession, the pandemic downturn and the historic inflation surge afterward.

This graph from The Associated Press details why inflation and consumer confidence are headed in opposite directions:

This news obviously puts President Trump and Republicans in a terrible spot heading into the midterm elections.

But some Republicans, such as Rep. Gabe Evans of CO-08, are in a worse position than others because of how recently they were crowing about economic stability and cheering the Trump Tariffs that have proven to be demonstrably bad news for Coloradans.

In mid-February, Evans boasted that inflation was down by 0.3% “thanks to the leadership of House Republicans and the [Trump] administration.” Ahead of Trump’s State of the Union speech, Evans claimed that “one year of Republican leadership has delivered…lower inflation.”

If Evans wants credit for modest economic improvement in February, he damn well gets the same credit for historically-bad economic numbers today.

The trouble with yelling, “Look what we did,” is that voters just might agree with you.