Over the past 12 months, the all items index increased by 4.9 percent before seasonal adjustment.

The main contributor to the monthly increase in all items was the index for shelter, followed by increases in the indexes for used cars and trucks, as well as gasoline. The rise in the gasoline index outweighed declines in other energy component indexes, resulting in a 0.6 percent increase in the energy index in April. The food index remained unchanged in both April and March. However, the index for food at home declined by 0.2 percent, while the index for food away from home rose by 0.4 percent.

Excluding food and energy, the index for all items increased by 0.4 percent in April, matching the increase in March. Various categories experienced increases in April, including shelter, used cars and trucks, motor vehicle insurance, recreation, household furnishings and operations, and personal care. On the other hand, categories such as airline fares and new vehicles saw decreases during the month.

Looking at the 12-month period ending in April, the all items index increased by 4.9 percent, which marks the smallest increase since the period ending in April 2021. Excluding food and energy, the index rose by 5.5 percent over the past year. The energy index decreased by 5.1 percent for the 12 months ending in April, while the food index saw a 7.7 percent increase during the same period. (ILKHA)