The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures overall inflation of the U.S. dollar, rose 0.8% in April, capping off the largest 12-month jump in prices since the period ending September 2008 after the beginning of the Great Recession.
The Department of Labor released data tracking inflation in the U.S. on Wednesday morning. The April jump in CPI was driven by a 10% price hike on used cars and trucks, the largest jump for that market on record.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported: “The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.8 percent in April on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.6 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 4.2 percent before seasonal adjustment. This is the largest 12-month increase since a 4.9-percent increase for the period ending September 2008.”
The 12-month inflation rate soared past the expectations of economists, who expected inflation to fall around 3.6% and 0.6% lower than the actual 4.2% inflationary spike.
The index for all items less food and energy measures the increase in cost of what economists refer to as a “typical” basket of consumer goods, minus any food or fuel products because those prices tend to fluctuate day-to-day. The index for all items less food and energy, known by economists as “core CPI” because of its relative stability, jumped 0.9% in April, its largest one-month hike since April 1982, according to BLS data.