CPI shows rents and gas prices driving inflation in April
The numbers: Rising rents and the higher cost of gas in April spawned a sizable increase in inflation for the second month in a row, but price pressures more broadly appeared to pose little threat to the U.S. economy.
The increase in the cost of living over the past 12 months edged up to 2% from 1.9%. That’s the highest rate of inflation since November, but well below last year’s peak of 2.9%. The increase in those costs was partly offset by a small decline in food prices — the first drop since the summer of 2017. The cost of every major grocery category fell except for dairy. Used vehicles were also cheaper.
The decline in apparel prices and several other key consumer goods and services appears to have cause the core CPI to be somewhat weaker than perhaps it really is — what Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell referred to as a “transient” factor that could fade soon.In other words, the Fed expects inflation to remain near its 2% target. The central bank relies on another price indicator, the so-called PCE index, as its main tool to track inflation.
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