Consumer prices rose 3.8% annually in April, the highest since May 2023

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Tue May 12, 2026, 09:47 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: CNBC

Published Tue, May 12 2026 8:30 AM EDT Updated 3 Min Ago


Prices that consumers pay for a wide range of goods and services increased at a faster-than-expected pace in April, as another burst in energy prices raised further concerns about inflation’s impact on the U.S. economy.

The consumer price index rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.6% for the month, putting the one-year pace at 3.8%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. The monthly rate was as forecast, but the annual rate was 0.1 percentage point above the Dow Jones consensus.

Excluding food and energy, the core CPI increased 0.4% and 2.8%, respectively, keeping inflation well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal as the monthly rate was the highest since January 2025. Fed officials consider core a better indicator of longer-term inflation trends.

The annual headline inflation rate was the highest since May 2023 and was up half a percentage point from March. Core inflation rose 0.2 percentage point annually.



Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/12/cpi-inflation-april-2026-.html

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From the source -

Link to tweet

BLS-Labor Statistics
@BLS_gov
CPI for all items rises 0.6% in April; shelter and gasoline up https://bls.gov/news.release/c
pi.nr0.htm
#CPI #BLSdata
8:32 AM · May 12, 2026

Article updated.

Previous articles -

Published Tue, May 12 2026 8:30 AM EDT Updated 1 Min Ago


Prices that consumers pay for a wide range of goods and services increased at a faster-than-expected pace in April, raising further concerns about the inflationary impact on the U.S. economy.

The consumer price index rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.6% for the month, putting the one-year pace at 3.8%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. The monthly rate was as forecast, but the annual rate was 0.1 percentage point above the Dow Jones consensus.

Excluding food and energy, core CPI increased 0.4% and 2.8% respectively, indicating that while inflation is still well above the Federal Reserve's 2% goal, a good deal of pressure is coming from non-core areas, particularly energy.

The annual headline inflation rate was the highest since May 2023 and was up half a percentage point from March. Core inflation rose 0.2 percentage point annually.

Published Tue, May 12 2026 8:30 AM EDT Updated 8 Min Ago


Prices that consumers pay for a wide range of goods and services increased at a faster-than-expected pace in April, raising further concerns about the inflationary impact on the U.S. economy.

The consumer price index rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.6% for the month, putting the one-year pace at 3.8%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. The monthly rate was as forecast, but the annual rate was 0.1 percentage point above the Dow Jones consensus.

Excluding food and energy, core CPI increased 0.4% and 2.8% respectively, indicating that while inflation is still well above the Federal Reserve's 2% goal, a good deal of pressure is coming from non-core areas, particularly energy.

The annual headline inflation rate was the highest since May 2023.


This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

Original article/headline -

Consumer prices rose 3.8% annually in April, more than expected

Published Tue, May 12 2026 8:30 AM EDT

The consumer price index was expected to increase by 3.7% annually in April, according to the Dow Jones consensus.


This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

[displacedvermoter]

1. Well, yeah...

It is real hard to fudge or recalculate or reinterpret, or adopt new accounting measures on this to soften the impact of any bad numbers. The least informed of our fellow citizens can readily understand how much more it costs to fill their truck or buy roofing supplies.

[UpInArms]

2. Full report

can be found here:

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

[Raven123]

3. I wonder who will get fired for this fake report

[essaynnc]

4. And who believes this???

I've been to the grocery store, I've been to the gas pump. I've looked at services that have doubled in the last year. What the hell?

Propaganda at its finest!

[magicarpet]

5. That damn Biden - it is all his fault.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. It was 2.9% when TSF took office and was "going to end inflation".

[chicoescuela]

7. Nice work Sleepy don

[Cheezoholic]

10. Republicans (including him) should be how we message this for the next 5 months. Pound Republicans are causing this

because they are. We really need to attach Republicans to everything we think he does

[Cheezoholic]

8. Repukes don't need no Pandemic to fleece your wallet and trigger high inflation ;) n/t

[progree]

9. GRAPHS

I'll add more info later after I read the news summary https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

CPI data series: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0

Core CPI data series: http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0L1E

As always, I prefer to show everything annualized so as to compare to the Fed's 2% goal and to each other

Regular CPI (includes food & energy)
Red line indicates the Federal Reserve's 2.0% inflation target


CORE CPI (EXcludes food & energy)
Red line indicates the Federal Reserve's 2.0% inflation target




Percent increases over the past month, over the past 3 months, and over the past 12 months, seasonally adjusted numbers, ANNUALIZED
1 mo 3 mo 12mo
---- ---- ----
8.0% 7.3% 3.8% Regular CPI (includes food & energy)
4.6% 3.2% 2.8% Core CPI (does not have food or energy)

2.0% 2.0% 2.0% Federal Reserve Target

[Cheezoholic]

11. Can I ask, because I'm an economic dummy, do they calculate that rate from the prices only going back a year?

I ask because it seems every time there's an inflationary increase in prices they never recover much. Then a year later, if thats how they do it, they are comparing prices to a prior inflated price. So after a year if prices stabilize a claim can be made that inflation is under control when actually its now baked into their calculations. I could be wrong, very wrong probably lol.

[SamuelAdams]

12. Yes, they do month over month and year over year calculations.

So the 3.9% means April 2026 was 3.9% more expensive than April 2025.

[progree]

20. You're not a dummy, your take on inflation is correct

You can see the relentless rise of the CPI price index in the data series (and graph) at
https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0

You can set the start time all the way back to 1947.

Additionally at the top right you can click on "More Formatting Options"
then, on the page that appears, check the "12-Month Percent Change" checkbox
then click the "Retrieve Data" button

Since 1960 the year-over-year number has dipped below 0% only twice, in 2009 (housing bubble burst Great Recession), and in early 2015. And very shortly thereafter prices recover from these "losses" and resume their upward march to new highs.

[durablend]

13. Gosh who could've predicted any of this?

[JT45242]

14. Just imagine if REAL INFLATION including energy and food were calculated

I paid $4 a gallon for gas at Costco this morning in Iowa. Food prices are much higher. My price per unit of electricity or natural gas are all up as well. (luckily we replaced our AC and furnace in the last couple of years, so actual cost is down because of the increased efficiency).

After no raise last year, I am definitely noticing it.

[progree]

18. The regular CPI has food and energy.

CPI data series ("all items" ): https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0
Please see first set of graphs in #9 above
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

[JT45242]

21. Thanks 8-10% os more believable based on my costs --

thanks for the graphs

[LetMyPeopleVote]

15. MaddowBlog-U.S. inflation surged in April, pushed higher by the effects of the Iran war

A White House official said two weeks ago, “Inflation is going down.” It was absurd then. It’s worse now.

The White House’s Peter Navarro, two weeks ago: “Inflation is going down.”

Reality, this morning: Inflation just surged to a three-year high.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-05-12T12:49:58.155Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/u-s-inflation-surged-in-april-pushed-higher-by-the-effects-of-the-war-in-iran

Last week, the public confronted a fresh round of discouraging news, as the Commerce Department showed a jump in the core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, which reached its highest level in almost three years. On Tuesday morning, conditions went from bad to worse. CNBC reported:

Prices that consumers pay for a wide range of goods and services increased at a faster-than-expected pace in April, raising further concerns about the inflationary impact on the U.S. economy.

The consumer price index rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.6% for the month, putting the one-year pace at 3.8%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.

The data, which was even worse than expected, showed consumer prices in the U.S. rising at the fastest rate since May 2023. As a related report in The New York Times noted, the price increases were “driven largely by energy prices,” which climbed as a result of the unnecessary war with Iran.

An NBC News report added, “April’s inflation rate is now rising faster than wages, which could exacerbate the affordability crisis that has already been gripping consumers.”

The latest national CNN poll found that 77% of respondents — including a majority of Republican voters — agreed that Trump’s policies have increased the cost of living. The same poll found that just 30% of Americans approve of the president’s handling of the economy, a career low for the Republican across both of his terms. That mirrored the results of the latest national Associated Press poll.

If White House officials, eager to peddle inane happy talk in defiance of Americans’ real lives, were counting on survey data to improve anytime soon, they’re likely to be disappointed.

[niyad]

16. I do not know what categories they are looking at, or what math, but

in my world, they are full of shit. Consumers? Meaning regular consumers and consumable goods? In the math that I was taught, when a loaf of bread goes from 2.99 to 3.49, that is NOT 3%.When a bag of prepared salad goes from 3.49 to 4.99, that is NOT 3%. When a package of sausage goes from $7.99/lb to $9.99/lb, that is NOT 3%. When rent goes from $949/month to $1,100/month, as a friend's just did, that is NOT 3%.

I could go on and on, but, again, in MY world, as a CONSUMER, they are lying sacks of shite, or using a math invented after I was in school, or using categories unrelated to me as a CONSUMER.

[progree]

19. According to this non-govt inflation index, prices rose only 2.4% year-over-year

From Numerator's "Consumer Goods Price Index (CGPI), which is a measure of what U.S. households are actually buying.", supposedly "everyday goods" (they do note they don't include gasoline in theirindex).

I've never heard of this one before. Anyhoo, it was posted in LBN yesterday. I posted some commentary in that thread.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143663787
https://www.numerator.com/inflation/

[Gymbo]

17. Don't worry...

It's all Biden's fault, just ask any MAGA if you don't believe me.