2021.05.1212:38:00UTC+00U.S. Consumer Prices Climb Much More Than Expected In April

Partly reflecting a spike in prices for used cars and trucks, the Labor Department released a report on Wednesday showing U.S. consumer prices increased by much more than expected in the month of April.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.8 percent in April after rising by 0.6 percent in March. Economists had expected consumer prices to inch up by 0.2 percent.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices also advanced by 0.9 percent in April following a 0.3 percent uptick in March. Core prices were expected to rise by another 0.3 percent.

With the much bigger than expected monthly increase, consumer prices in April were up by 4.2 percent compared to the same month a year ago, reflecting the biggest jump since September of 2008.

Core consumer prices surged up by 3.0 percent year-over-year, marking the biggest annual increase since January of 1996.