Inflation jumped to 3.8% in April compared with a year ago, the Commerce Department said Thursday, up from 3.5% in March and the highest since May 2023. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.4%, down from the 0.7% jump in March.
Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core inflation rose to 3.3% in April from 3.2% the previous month. It is the highest core figure since November 2023. One positive sign in the report: Core prices rose just 0.2% in April from March.
Higher prices are also cutting into consumers’ incomes, which were unchanged in April from March. Adjusted for inflation, incomes actually slipped 0.1% last month.
