CPI Hits 3.3%, Consumer Sentiment Hits Record Low - Stagflation Is Here

CPI triples to 0.9%, consumer sentiment hits an all-time low, and the Fed is quietly running QE — stagflation isn't coming, it's here. Gold ended the week at $4,745 with silver at $75.76 and mining stocks up 5%, all buoyed by the Taco Tuesday ceasefire that sent markets surging mid-week. Peter Schiff argues the ceasefire is a win for Iran and that Trump was looking for a way out of threats he could never carry out — but the real story is the inflation data. March CPI came in at 0.9% month-over-month, tripling February's reading and pushing year-over-year inflation to 3.3%. The Fed's balance sheet has quietly expanded by nearly $200 billion in 2026 — quantitative easing in everything but name. Q4 GDP was revised down to 0.5%, making 2025's full-year growth just 2.1% — lower than any year under Biden. Consumer sentiment plunged to 47.6, the lowest reading in the history of the survey. Schiff connects the dots: M2 money supply growing at 5%, a proposed 50% defense budget increase, and a Fed that will be forced to cut rates regardless of inflation all point to a stagflation environment where gold and silver are headed substantially higher.