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Inflation climbed to a new four-decade high of 8.5% in March as President Biden claimed what he called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “genocide” in Ukraine was responsible for a record surge in gas prices and the exacerbation of supply chain disruptions — forcing Americans to pay even more for basic goods.

“Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away,” Biden said during remarks at an ethanol bioproduction facility in Menlo, Iowa — going a step beyond previous declarations by his administration. 

The March uptick marked the highest annual rate of increase of inflation since December 1981, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday.

On a monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index — a closely tracked inflation gauge that details the costs of goods and services — rose 1.2% from February to March. 

Labor Department officials said price increases for gasoline, shelter and food were the largest contributors to inflation. The gasoline price index rose 18.3% in March.

Excluding volatile food and gas prices, the CPI still rose 6.5% year-over-year.

The March report was the first to fully reflect the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which prompted a wave of crippling economic sanctions — including a US ban on Russian energy imports.

“We saw in today’s inflation data, 70% of the increase in prices in March came from Putin’s price hike in gasoline,” Biden said Tuesday, using a favored White House phrase for inflation “We need to address this challenge with the urgency it demands.”

The European Union is under pressure to enact a similar step due to its heavy reliance on Russian gas, with ongoing shipments serving as a key source of revenue for the Kremlin.

The March reading came in slightly higher than expected. Economists had expected the CPI to jump 8.4% compared to the same month one year earlier.

National average gas prices hit an all-time high of $4.33 on March 11, though they have since declined, according to AAA data.

As of Tuesday, the national average price hovered near $4.10 per gallon. But prices are still much higher than they were on the same day one year earlier, when a gallon of gas cost about $2.86.

The alarming inflation data surfaced as the Federal Reserve ramps up its efforts to return to normal market conditions following extraordinary measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Fed enacted its first interest rate hike in three years last month and is expected to raise its benchmark rate several more times throughout the year — with some experts suggesting the next increase could be larger than the quarter-percentage-point hike enacted in March.

The average US household spent an extra $327 in March due to inflation, according to calculations by Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics. That’s up from roughly $297 per household in February, when the Consumer Price Index jumped 7.9%.

“The Fed is behind the curve on inflation and the labor market is extremely tight,” Sweet told The Post. “Therefore, tightening monetary policy to tame inflation without causing the unemployment rate to increase will be extremely difficult.”

Surging inflation has effectively erased strong wage increases for workers in what has been a historically tight labor market, with unemployment currently hovering below 4%.

“Inflation has continued to accelerate in recent months and with the higher gasoline and food prices stemming from the war in Ukraine, the worst is likely still to come,” Bankrate chief financial analyst Greg McBride said.

While the White House blamed the war in Europe for the shocking inflation number, a key member of the president’s own party said the price crisis had deeper roots. 

“It is a disservice to the American people to act as if inflation is a new phenomenon,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said in a statement. “The Federal Reserve and the Administration failed to act fast enough, and today’s data is a snapshot in time of the consequences being felt across the country. Instead of acting boldly, our elected leaders and the Federal Reserve continue to respond with half-measures and rhetorical failures searching for where to lay the blame.”

“Here is the truth,” Manchin added, “we cannot spend our way to a balanced, healthy economy and continue adding to our $30 trillion national debt.”

Republican lawmakers similarly pushed back, blaming the Biden administration’s big-spending agenda and its restrictions on domestic energy production. 

“If the Biden Administration truly wants to find the cause of record high inflation all they have to do is look in the mirror,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). “These dramatic, record-setting increases in inflation weren’t caused by Vladimir Putin, but by the bad choices of President Biden and the Democrats who control Congress.

“When they declare war on oil and gas, Americans end up with higher prices at the pump,” Graham added. “When they spend with no end in sight, they drive up costs for average Americans and allow inflation to take a larger and larger chunk out of Americans’ hard-earned wages. When they adopt a weak foreign policy that invites the bad guys to take action, we get a troubled and dangerous world.”

Much of the spending stems from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which Biden signed into law in March 2021 and gave $1,400 stimulus checks to most Americans, extended a $300 weekly unemployment supplement and expanded the annual child tax credit to $3,000 to $3,600 per child, up from $2,000.