Odaily News U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly fell in March, even as inflation risks tilted to the upside as Trump cuts tariffs on other countries. The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday that the CPI fell 0.1% in March from the previous month, after rising 0.2% in February. The decline may reflect lower energy costs and the fading impact of price increases at the beginning of the year. Excluding the volatile food and energy sectors, the core CPI rose 0.1% in March from the previous month and rose 0.2% in February. On a year-on-year basis, the core CPI rose 2.8% in March from a year earlier and rose 3.1% in February. The March data may only reflect a small part of Trump's first wave of import tariffs. Capital Economics estimates that inflation will peak at around 4%, double the Fed's 2% target. The minutes of the Fed's March 18-19 meeting released on Wednesday showed that policymakers were almost unanimous in their view that the economy faces the risk of rising inflation and slowing growth. (Jinshi)