The Bloomberg article below reports that economists expect a 1% surge in consumer prices for March — the sharpest monthly jump since 2022 — driven largely by the Iran war. But here’s the hidden angle the financial press won’t touch: The Federal Reserve is using the war as cover to keep interest rates high, and that’s a feature, not a bug, of the military-industrial complex’s business model.
Let’s connect the dots. According to Brown University’s Costs of War Project, the U.S. war against Iran is costing taxpayers up to $2 billion per day. The Pentagon has already requested an additional $200 billion budget to continue operations. Meanwhile, the Fed is signaling that it may struggle to lower interest rates this year precisely because of “new inflation risks stemming from war in the Middle East.” Higher rates don’t fix supply shocks — they crush demand, kill jobs, and make credit card debt, auto loans, and mortgages more expensive for working families.
And who benefits from this arrangement? Wall Street and the defense industry. Lockheed Martin’s stock hit an all-time high in the first days of the war, rising over 4%. Northrop Grumman jumped 6%, RTX gained nearly 5%. Defense contractors have agreed to “quadruple production” of weaponry after a White House meeting. Oil giants like ExxonMobil also hit new highs. The message is clear: war is a wealth transfer from taxpayers to shareholders.
This is an unconstitutional war Iran never asked for, launched without a single vote in Congress. And while Americans are told to tighten their belts, the US tax dollars funding Israel continue to flow — $3.8 billion annually in military aid, plus billions more in emergency supplements.
So who is really benefiting from the Fed’s “inflation fight”? Not you. Not the families struggling to fill their gas tanks or pay their credit card bills.
The military-industrial complex wants you to believe that high prices are an act of God. They’re not. They’re a policy choice. Share this if you want your tax dollars spent at home, not on bombs.
Source: Bloomberg via Moneycontrol – reprinted for commentary and analysis under fair use. The following is the original reporting:
US inflation seen spiking in first snapshot since Iran war
Economists are penciling in a 1% increase in the consumer price index for March — the sharpest one-month advance since 2022
BLOOMBERG APRIL 05, 2026 / 10:18 IST
The sudden increase in US gasoline prices felt by American consumers is set to be on full display in key inflation data due out this coming week. Economists are penciling in a 1% increase in the consumer price index for March — the sharpest one-month advance since 2022 — after the Iran war pushed gas prices at the pump up by about $1 per gallon.
At the same time, the core CPI, excluding energy and food, probably rose 0.3% from a month earlier, according to a Bloomberg survey ahead of the Bureau of Labor Statistics report due Friday.
A day ahead of the CPI, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation will offer a snapshot of pre-war price pressures. Economists see the so-called core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which excludes food and energy, having risen by 0.4% for a third month in February, suggesting progress toward tamer inflation was stalling even before the conflict.
Combined with signs of stabilization in the US labor market, stubborn price pressures along with new inflation risks stemming from war in the Middle East help explain why the Fed may struggle to lower interest rates this year.
The mid-week release of minutes from the central bank’s March policy meeting may shed light on officials’ concerns about inflation or the potential economic impacts stemming from the Iran conflict and related disruptions to energy and other commodity flows.
In addition to the PCE price data, the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ report will include figures on personal spending as well as incomes. Economists expect a modest increase in inflation-adjusted spending.
Other reports in the coming week include the Institute for Supply Management’s March services activity index, due on Monday. And on Friday, the University of Michigan will issue its preliminary April consumer sentiment index.
In Canada, the March labor force survey will offer a first look at how surging energy costs may be filtering through to job growth and unemployment. Economists expect the jobless rate to tick up to 6.8%.
Elsewhere, central banks from Poland to India and New Zealand may keep policy steady as they monitor events in the Middle East, while inflation gauges from China to Latin America will point to the impact on living costs.
Asia gets three rate decisions this week, with the focus falling on how authorities assess risks to prices and growth from the Middle East conflict. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to hold its cash rate at 2.25% on Wednesday for a second straight meeting after Governor Anna Breman said she won’t rush into raising the benchmark in response to the Iran war. Pricing in the overnight swaps market shows traders see a roughly 58% chance of an increase by the meeting in July, though economists see a longer hold.
On the same day, India’s Reserve Bank is forecast to keep its repurchase rate steady at 5.25%, while on Friday, the Bank of Korea — in the final meeting of Governor Rhee Chang Yong’s tenure — is all but certain to keep settings unchanged as well.
Data highlights include inflation updates from the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan. China’s key inflation gauges for March, due Friday, will likely reflect the impact of soaring energy costs. Consumer inflation may accelerate again after picking up to the fastest pace in three years in February. Likewise, factory-gate deflation may narrow further after registering the slowest clip in more than a year in the previous month.
Japan releases wage data for February on Wednesday, with a focus on the inflation-adjusted gauge after it turned positive in January for the first time in more than a year. Singapore releases retail sales figures for February on Tuesday.
