Rising home and gas costs pushed US inflation higher than expected in March

The consumer-price index, a closely watched measure of inflation, rose 0.4% from February, higher than the 0.3% expected

A closely watched measure of US inflation picked up in March, rising to an annual rate of 3.5%, the US Department of Labor announced on Wednesday.

The consumer-price index (CPI) – which measures a broad range of goods and services – rose 0.4% from February, higher than the 0.3% expected. Core CPI, which removes the volatile food and energy categories rose 0.4% from February v an expected 0.3%.