Energy & Environment Newsletter

Energy prices supercharge inflation figures

by Rachel Frazin - 04/10/26 7:08 PM ET

Link copied

by Rachel Frazin - 04/10/26 7:08 PM ET

Link copied

- {beacon}

Energy & Environment

The Big Story

Energy prices supercharge inflation figures

Consumer prices in the U.S. rose by 3.3 percent over the past year and by 0.9 percent in March, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

This is the highest inflation rate increase in nearly four years — propelled by rising energy costs tied to the U.S.’s military operation in Iran.

Energy costs rose by a staggering 10.9 percent last month. The price of fuel oil spiked by 30.7 percent, the cost of gasoline by 21.2 percent and energy commodities by 21.3 percent, the data shows.

The BLS said that the gasoline price spike was “the largest monthly increase since the series was first published in 1967.”

Read more here, from The Hill’s Sarah Davis.

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I’m Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads

How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:

EPA tells some scientific research staffers to relocate

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making some of its staffers relocate and reassigning an even larger share of employees as part of its efforts to reorganize its scientific research.

Full Story

Ceasefire may bring modest respite at the pump

This week’s drop in oil prices following the Iran war ceasefire could bring some modest respite for consumers at the pump — if the truce holds.

Full Story

What We’re Reading

News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:

Next Black Lung: Countertop Silica Dust Cases Pile Up in Courts (Bloomberg Law)

On Our Radar

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

Wednesday

- Energy Secretary Chris Wright is slated to appear before the House Appropriations Committee

- The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on several grid-related bills. FERC officials are slated to appear

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on Great Lakes restoration

Thursday

- The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the Energy Department’s budget

The House Appropriations committee will hold hearings on the budgets for the DHS agencies including FEMA, the Forest Service and the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation. Acting FEMA chief Karen Evans and Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz are slated to testify at their respective hearings.

What Others are Reading

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Sotomayor: Supreme Court emergency docket appeals by Trump ‘unprecedented’

Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a Thursday speech at the University of Alabama School of Law said the Trump administration’s increase in emergency appeals is “unprecedented in the court’s history.” Read more

Automatic registration for US military draft to begin in December

Eligible men will automatically be registered into the military draft pool by December as part of an effort to streamline the previous process of self-registration and save money. Read more

You’re all caught up. See you next week!

Thank you for signing up!

Subscribe to more newsletters here

The latest in politics and policy.

Direct to your inbox.

Add as preferred source on Google