- The consumer price index, a key inflation indicator, rose 4.9% in April.
- This year-on-year increase is slightly below expectations in March.
- The Fed recently hiked rates 10 times in a row.
April marked a further cooling in US inflation, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report on Wednesday.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 4.9% from April 2022 to April 2023, according to new statistics. report.it is just below 5.0% forecast It fell below the 5.0% year-on-year increase in March.
“The last March CPI reading was the nine months since the Federal Reserve woke up to high prices and started raising rates last March,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, in a statement. It shows a continuous slowdown,” he said. before Wednesday’s April estimates report. “Fed decision makers voted unanimously in favor of raising rates again at their most recent meeting as inflation remains high.”
CPI rose 0.4% month-on-month, according to seasonally adjusted data.This corresponds to 0.4% forecast It surpassed the 0.1% month-on-month increase in March.
Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, also rose 5.5% year-on-year in April, the same rate of year-on-year growth. forecast 5.5%. The latest report showed some drop in core CPI. In March, the year-on-year increase was 5.6%.
“The Shelter Index increased 8.1 percent last year, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total increase in all categories except food and energy,” said a news release issued Wednesday.
In addition, seasonally adjusted data show core CPI increased by 0.4% from March to April, consistent with a 0.4% increase in the same period last year. forecast Month-over-month growth in March was 0.4%.
The food index has fallen over the past two months, based on seasonally adjusted data. Household food prices fell 0.3% from February to March and 0.2% from March to April. The index rose 7.1% year-on-year in his April, according to unadjusted data.
The gas index fell 12.2% year-on-year, according to unadjusted data. After a month-on-month decline in March, the index rose month-on-month in April, according to seasonally adjusted data. The index rose 3.0% from March to April after falling 4.6%.
The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates as US inflation is above its 2% target. Just recently, the Fed raised interest rates ten times in a row.
“I believe the path of inflation going forward will be key in determining whether the Federal Reserve is justified in further rate hikes,” Hamrick said. “Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues continue to focus on inflation, but the recent bank failures have forced them to pay more attention to financial stability.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for the latest information.