Inflation Rose 4.9% Annually in April
Summary from the AllSides News Team
U.S. inflation rose 0.4% in April from March and 4.9% over the prior 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Details: April's annual consumer price index (CPI) fell slightly from March's 5% growth, and the annual inflation rate has now fallen for 10 straight months after peaking at 9.1% in June 2022. Prices rose faster in April than in March, when inflation rose 0.1% from February. Core CPI, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.4% in April, the same as March.
Key Items: "Food at home" prices fell for the second straight month, while remaining up 7.1% from a year ago. The cost of gasoline rose 3% from March, while falling 12.2% from 12 months ago. Other energy item prices fell from March, like fuel oil (down 4.4%) and utility gas service (down 4.9%). Used cars and trucks jumped 4.4% in price from March, but overall fell 6.6% from a year ago.
How the Media Covered It: Many sources across the spectrum suggested that while inflation remains too high, it's cooling off amid interest rate hikes. Some focused on specific costs that continue to rise. Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias) called the report "a welcome sign that the Federal Reserve's efforts to tame price growth are working." Others, like Axios (Lean Left), highlighted how core inflation "continued to rise at a quick pace, a worrying sign for economic policymakers."
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Consumer prices rise at quicker pace in April
The consumer price index rose at a quicker monthly pace in April as costs for used cars and trucks soared — the latest sign of sticky inflation pressures across the economy.
Why it matters: The consumer price index rose 0.4% in April, faster than the 0.1% rise the previous month. The measure that excludes energy and food prices continued to rise at a quick pace, a worrying sign for economic policymakers.
By the numbers: In the 12 months through April, CPI increased 4.9% — a tick down from the 5% in...
From the Center
Inflation rose 4.9% in April from a year ago, less than expectations
A widely followed measure of inflation rose in April, despite more than a year’s worth of Federal Reserve interest rate increases.
The consumer price index, which measures the cost of a broad swath of goods and services, increased 0.4% for the month, in line with the Dow Jones estimate, according to a Labor Department report Wednesday.
However, that equated to an annual increase of 4.9%, slightly less than the 5% estimate.
Excluding volatile food and energy categories, core CPI rose 0.4% monthly and 5.5% from a year ago both in...
From the Right
Inflation declined to 4.9% in April in encouraging sign for economy
Inflation cooled slightly to 4.9% for the year ending in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday, a welcome sign that the Federal Reserve's efforts to tame price growth are working.
The much-anticipated numbers from the consumer price index show that, while inflation is much too high, it is cooling in response to the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes, the most recent of which came last week.
Inflation had been running at 5% the month before. Tuesday’s report marks 10 straight months of declines in annual inflation after the rate peaked...
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