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Inflation eased last month as shoppers got a break at both the grocery store and the gas station. 

 show consumer prices in April were up 2.3 percent from a year ago. That’s the smallest annual increase since February of 2021.  

Prices rose 0.2 percent between March and April, after a modest decline the previous month.  Housing costs accounted for much of the monthly increase, while prices for natural gas, electricity and auto insurance also rose in April.

Despite the muted price hikes last month, uncertainty remains about the outlook. So far, the trade war that ramped up at the beginning of April has had only a limited effect on retail prices, but analysts say higher tariffs may become more visible in future months.  

An early sign of that was furniture costs, which rose 1.5 percent in April. 

Inflation was kept in check last month by a decline in both gasoline and grocery prices. 

Egg prices, which have been a poster child for the high cost of living, plunged 12.7 percent in April, as farmers got a seasonal reprieve from a lengthy battle with avian flu. Egg prices are still 49.3 percent higher than they were a year ago.

Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, “core” inflation was 2.8 percent in April — unchanged from the previous month. 

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Scott Horsley

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Consumer prices in April were up 2.3 percent from a year ago, the smallest annual increase in more than four years.  Grocery prices fell 0.4 percent, thanks to a large drop in the price of eggs.

Inflation cools in April — but tariffs could upend the picture in coming months

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