WASHINGTON (AP) - Inflation slowed in April after seven months of relentless
gains, a tentative sign that price increases may be peaking while still imposing
a financial strain on American households.
Consumer prices jumped 8.3% last month from 12 months earlier, the Labor
Department said Wednesday. That was below the 8.5% year-over-year surge in
March, which was the highest rate since 1981.
On a month-to-month basis, prices rose 0.3% from March to April, a
still-elevated rate but the smallest increase in eight months. Consumer prices
had spiked 1.2% from February to March, mostly because of a sudden jump in gas
prices triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Nationally, the price of a gallon of regular gas has reached a record $4.40,
according to AAA, though that figure isn't adjusted for inflation. The high
price of oil is the main factor. A barrel of U.S. benchmark crude sold for
around $100 a barrel Tuesday. Gas had fallen to about $4.10 a gallon in April,
after reaching $4.32 in March.
Beyond the financial strain for households, inflation is posing a serious
political problem for President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats in the
midterm election season, with Republicans arguing that Biden's $1.9 trillion
financial support package last March overheated the economy by flooding it with
stimulus checks, enhanced unemployment aid and child tax credit payments.
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