WASHINGTON — The consumer price index rose 0.4% in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported Friday, as energy costs continued to dominate.
Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2%, the third increase of that size in the last four months.
Analysts had expected an increase of double the actual number — 0.8%, according to the median of economists polled by Thomson Reuters. They were right on the core increase, however, predicting 0.2%.
Energy prices overall rose 2.2%, following a 3.5% increase in March. Gasoline prices were up 3.3% after a 5.6% rise in March.
Gas prices alone accounted for almost half of the headline inflation number, according to the Labor analysis.
Food prices increased 0.4% overall, following a 0.8% increase in March.
