The Consumer Price Index increased 0.2% in April on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, after falling 0.1% in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.3%.
The index for all items less food and energy, the “core CPI”, rose 0.2% in April, following a 0.1% increase in March, and 2.8% over the last 12 months.
The index for shelter rose 0.3% in April, accounting for more than half of the all items monthly increase. The energy index also increased over the month, rising 0.7% as increases in the natural gas index and the electricity index more than offset a decline in the gasoline index. The index for food, in contrast, fell 0.1% in April as the food at home index decreased 0.4% and the food away from home index rose 0.4% over the month.
The index for food decreased 0.1% in April, after rising 0.4% in March. The food at home index fell 0.4% over the month, the largest decline in that index since September 2020. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes decreased in April. Driven primarily by a 12.7-percent decrease in the index for eggs, the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs fell 1.6% in April after rising in recent months. The fruits and vegetables index decreased 0.4% over the month and the cereals and bakery products index declined 0.5%. The nonalcoholic beverages index increased 0.7% over the month.
The energy index increased 0.7% in April, after falling 2.4% in March. The index for natural gas rose 3.7% over the month and the index for electricity increased 0.8%. The gasoline index decreased 0.1% over the month. The index for energy decreased 3.7% over the past 12 months. The gasoline index fell 11.8% over this 12-month span and the fuel oil index fell 9.6% over that period. In contrast, the index for electricity increased 3.6% over the last 12 months and the index for natural gas rose 15.7%.
Read the BLS release.
