Consumer Price Index Rises 0.5% in April

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rices paid by consumers rose 0.5% in April, while the so-called “core” consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, was unchanged, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

Analysts had predicted a 0.4% rise in the CPI and a 0.2% gain in the core rate, Bloomberg reported.

The April increase followed a 0.6% CPI gain in March and a 0.4% rise in the core rate.

The CPI is the government's broadest gauge of costs for goods and services. Almost 60% of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services. If consumer prices are falling, it could reflect a decrease in demand for consumer goods, which decreases the demand for trucking services.

Year-over-year core prices rose 2.2%, down from 2.3% in March, Labor said.

Consumer prices are rising at an annual 4.8% rate this year, compared with 4.4% at the same time last year, Bloomberg reported. Core prices have risen at the same rate to date as last year, 2.6%.

Energy prices rose 4.5% in April, the biggest monthly gain in a year, following record retail fuel prices last month. Gasoline prices increased 6.4% for the month.

Food prices, which account for about one-fifth of the index, rose 0.7%, the most since last May.

The costs of all goods, including automobiles, clothing and food, rose 0.9%, though clothing prices dropped 0.6%.