US consumer prices rebounded as expected in April as the cost of gasoline rose, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The consumer price index, a basket of consumer goods that reflects price changes, rose 0.2% from March.
Compared to the prior year, CPI rose by 2.2 (2.3% forecast.)
Higher gasoline and heating gas costs helped lift the index, which rose after its first decline in more than a year.
Used cars, clothes, and medical care all declined from March.
When the volatile costs of food and energy are excluded, so-called core CPI increased by 0.1% month-on-month, and by 1.9% year-on-year, a 19-month low.
It was forecast to increase by 0.2% month-on-month and 2% year-on-year.
In March, the core index fell for the first time in more than six years due to an unusually large drop in the cost of wireless telephone services. This component fell again in April.
CPI is a gauge of inflation, but the Federal Reserve prefers to use the personal consumption expenditures price index, which tracks what consumers actually buy more comprehensively.
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from Akin Oyedele
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