In February, President Donald Trump might not have had red-hot economic numbers to point to, but at least he could say gas prices were down 7.3 percent since he took office and annual inflation was at just 2.4 percent. Then Trump started a war with Iran, the Strait of Hormuz closed, and chaos engulfed a big chunk of the world economy. In the two months after the war began, gas prices rose 29 percent. Airfares are up 5.6 percent as well. Some items are resistant to war-induced price hikes, such as sugar and sweets (down 1.7 percent since February). But the war against Iran has clearly caused a price hike at the pump, and pretty much everywhere else in the economy too. All these numbers come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest data from April 2026.
| Category | Change since Trump took office | Change since Iran war began |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Inflation | 4.2% | 1.5% |
| Tobacco and smoking products | 9.2% | 0.5% |
| Cable, satellite, and livestreaming services | 1.4% | 0.8% |
| Medicinal drugs | -1.6% | -1.3% |
| Meats | 10.7% | 1.2% |
| Televisions | -5.4% | 0.2% |
| Cigarettes | 10.3% | 0.2% |
| Prescription drugs | -2.2% | -1.5% |
| Sugar & Sweets | 6.8% | -1.7% |
| Airline fares | 9.4% | 5.6% |
| Gasoline, unleaded regular | 19.6% | 29.0% |
| Alcoholic beverages | 2.7% | 0.5% |