Inflation eased slightly in April, the 10th straight month of cooling, although price gains remained historically high.
The Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.9% on April 2022, just lower than March’s 5% increase, and was up a seasonally-adjusted 0.4% monthly.
Excluding volatile food and energy categories, core CPI rose 0.4% monthly and 5.5% from a year ago, both in line with expectations.
Real average hourly earnings, adjusted for inflation, rose 0.1% for the month but were still down 0.5% from a year ago, the Labor Department said in a separate report. Learn more.