Consumer Price Index Inches Up 0.2% in April

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he Labor Department said Friday that prices paid by consumers rose 0.2% in April, the fifth straight monthly increase.

The rise in the consumer price index followed a 0.5% gain in March. Excluding food and energy, the core index rose 0.3% after a 0.4% rise.

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.

Economists told Bloomberg consumer demand has been spurred by tax refunds and the creation of new jobs over the past two months, allowing companies to discount less. Higher demand for goods also increases the demand for trucking services.

Consumer prices excluding food and energy were 1.8% higher last month than in April of last year, the biggest year-over-year increase since January 2003, Labor said.

Consumer prices of all goods and services are up 2.3% for the year ended last month. So far this year, consumer prices are rising at a 4.4% annual rate.

Labor said that energy prices, which account for about a 14th of the index, rose 0.2% in April after a 1.9% increase a month earlier.