WASHINGTON. – Consumer prices in the United States increased at a steady pace for the second consecutive month in April, resulting in the largest annual increase in inflation in nearly three years and further reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates unchanged for some time.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6% last month, following a 0.9% jump in March, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the Department of Labor. Economists surveyed by Reuters had predicted a 0.6% increase in the CPI. Estimates ranged from a 0.4% increase to a 0.9% increase.
The moderation, after recording the largest increase since June 2022, was largely mechanical. Oil prices exceeded $100 per barrel in March following attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, before retreating to still-high levels after a ceasefire at the beginning of April.
Over the 12 months leading up to April, the CPI increased by 3.8%. This was the largest year-over-year increase since May 2023 and followed a 3.3% increase in March.
The consistently high inflation readings will increase the political risk for the American president, Donald Trump, and his Republican Party ahead of the November elections. Trump was re-elected in 2024 largely due to his promise to reduce inflation, but Americans have…
AI Brief
Your highlights
WASHINGTON. – The soaring inflation in the United States is increasingly becoming a headache for Donald Trump, who faces a crucial midterm election in less than six months. Consumer prices rose 3.8% year-on-year in April, the largest increase in three years, a direct impact of the rise in fuel prices since the beginning of the war against Iran. The figure, reported this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, represents a significant increase compared to the 3.3% year-on-year in March, and the 2.4% of the previous month, before the outbreak of the conflict with the joint offensive by the United States and Israel. The increase reinforces expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will maintain interest rates unchanged for some time. People shop at a Lidl supermarket on May 11, 2026, in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA. The increase was largely driven by energy prices, which rose 3.8% compared to the previous month due to the impact of the war in the Middle East, which led to oil prices remaining above $100 per barrel in March (the Brent benchmark is trading at $107 today). The average price of gasoline in the United States is above $4.50 per gallon (3.78 liters), according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), while the price of diesel has almost doubled since the beginning of the conflict. Just last month, gasoline rose 5.4% and has accumulated an increase of nearly 30% in the last year. President Donald Trump, at the White House. KENT NISHIMURA - AFP. In addition, the so-called "core" index – which excludes the volatile prices of food and energy – also accelerated, to 2.8% year-on-year in April, exceeding the 2.6% recorded the previous month. Inflation had slowed down since reaching its peak – 9.1% year-on-year in June 2022, during Joe Biden's term – fueled by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the shock in energy markets following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February of that year. Lidl supermarket leaflets are seen on May 11, 2026, in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA. The data published this Tuesday is another piece of bad news for Trump, who, after ten weeks of war in the Middle East, has not been able to steer negotiations with Tehran to find a way out of the conflict. On Monday, the president actually warned that the fragile ceasefire with Iran is "on life support" and strongly rejected the response of the ayatollah regime to the latest U.S. peace proposal, which he called "stupid" and a "piece of garbage" that he "hadn't even" finished reading. The Fed, which was expected to cut its benchmark interest rates this year, has adopted a cautious stance, awaiting a resolution of the conflict in the Middle East and whether the rise in energy prices will extend to other products, causing a broader inflationary surge in the United States. United States. Donald Trump. War in the Middle East.