by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street
Where inflation hit in April: Rent, motor vehicle insurance & maintenance, eating out, medical care services, rental cars, utility natural gas, electricity… But prices of apparel & shoes fell.
On a month-to-month basis, inflation bounced back in April, driven by core services and to a lesser extent by utility natural gas and electricity, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics today. Food prices dipped. Prices of apparel and footwear also dipped.
The Consumer Price Index bounced back and rose by 0.22% (+2.7% annualized) in April from March, after the 0.05% dip (-0.6% annualized) in March (blue in the chart below). There was no evidence of tariffs getting passed through to consumers. The inflation came from services, and also from utility natural gas and electricity.