Inflation numbers for March came in early Wednesday morning and were higher than analysts had predicted, leading to an on-air admission from far-left CNN that prices were headed in “the wrong direction.”

The numbers were the opposite of what the White House and the establishment media wished to see with less than seven months before the 2024 election.

The consumer price index report found that core inflation rose 3.5 percent last month from a year ago — and higher than expectations.

Additionally, prices rose from February to March by an average of 0.4 percent, per the CPI released by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to CNBC, analysts had expected a year-to-year increase of 3.4 percent and a month-to-month jump of 0.3 percent.

On CNN Wednesday, host Kate Bolduan announced the number live on the air.

“This just in: Inflation is headed in the wrong direction right now,” Bolduan told her network’s declining audience.

She added, “The latest consumer price report just out shows prices up 3.5 percent. This over the same time last year.”

Network business correspondent Rahel Solomon then broke down the numbers further.

“You put it pretty well there. This is moving in the wrong direction,” Solomon told Bolduan.

“A 3.5 percent on an annual basis, to put that in context, that is hotter than what we were expecting and certainly hotter than we saw the month prior,” she continued.

Respondents to CNN’s coverage of the CPI release on the social media platform X took aim at the network:

The Dow plunged more than 400 points at the opening bell Wednesday after the release of last month’s CPI report.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.