US Consumer Prices Increase By Most Since 2009

U.S. consumer prices climbed in April by the most since 2009, amid a record increase in used-car costs and signaling a build-up in inflationary pressures as burgeoning demand gives companies latitude to pass on higher costs.

The consumer price index increased 0.8% from the prior month after a 0.6% gain in March, according to Labor Department data Wednesday. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the so-called core CPI rose 0.9% from March.

The median forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 0.2% in the CPI and a 0.3% gain in the core measure.

The annual CPI figure surged to 4.2%, distorted by the comparison to the pandemic-depressed index in April 2020. This phenomenon — known as the base effect — will skew the May figure as well, likely muddling the ongoing inflation debate.

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{Matzav.com}