Consumer price inflation eased more than expected in March as President Donald Trump prepared to launch tariffs against U.S. trading partners, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.

The consumer price index, a broad measure of goods and services costs across the U.S. economy, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in March, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.4%, down from 2.8% in February.

Inflation was more moderate than economists expected last month, according to data released Thursday morning, though President Donald Trump’s tariff threats could drive consumer prices back up in a major fashion.

Consumer prices declined 0.1% month-over-month and rose 2.4% year-over-year in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index, compared to consensus economist forecasts of a 2.6% annual rise in prices and a 0.1% month-over-month increase, according to FactSet data.

US inflation slowed more than expected in March, according to the first month of consumer price data to account for the impact of President Trump’s sweeping tariff wars.

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.4% over the past 12 months through March, below expectations of a 2.6% rise and beneath last month’s 2.8% figure, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday.

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, came in at 2.8% — also below projections of a 3% jump and February’s 3.1% figure, according to the government data.