WASHINGTON–The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up 0.2% in April, while annual inflation was 2.3%, according to new data from the Labor Department.
PI was up 0.2% over the month, while annual inflation was 2.3%.
“The most notable increases in core prices came from services such as housing, medical care, insurance, and education indicating impact from goods tariff is not significant yet,” Dawit Kebede, senior economist with America’s Credit Unions, said in a statement. “While the recent deal with China resulted in big reduction of tariffs, they remain sufficiently high to add pressure on prices and the economy. This will likely make the Federal Reserve wait to see more incoming data before taking action to cut rates.”
A Wall Street Journal analysis agreed, noting that many analysts “see the report as good news primarily because it didn’t reveal bad news, including meaningful effects of higher tariffs that could show up later this summer.”
The month-over-month reading matched the forecasts of economists polled by publication.
“You can’t take a lot of comfort in this report,” Andy Schneider, U.S. economist at BNP Paribas, told the Journal. “There are a lot of worrying factors telling us inflation will strengthen going forward.”
