Core Consumer Inflation Remains Tame

Washington, DC, May 13, 2011 -- Consumer prices rose 0.4% in April, with higher gasoline costs accounting for more than half the increase, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Economists had expected the consumer-price index, which tracks the cost of living, to increase 0.4% in April.

Consumer prices have jumped an unadjusted 3.2% over the past year, the largest 12-month increase since October 2008.

Rising oil prices accounted for most of the CPI increase. Energy prices have leaped 19% — and gas has surged 33% — over the past 12 months.

Stripping out food and energy, the so-called core rate of consumer-price inflation rose 0.2%. The core rate has risen 1.3% over the past 12 months.