Prices surged higher in April from the month prior, worrying Wall Street that higher inflation was becoming embedded in the US economy.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that consumer prices jumped by 0.9 percent last month, pushing the yearly inflation rate up to 3.8 percent, its highest level in nearly three years – and a big jump from the 3.3 percent reported in March.
This key measure of inflation, called the consumer price index (CPI), tracks the changing prices for a basket of goods and services over time to present a clear snapshot of prices throughout the US the economy.
The April report showed higher energy costs replaced tariffs as the driver of higher prices for Americans
‘This inflation problem isn’t going away as quickly as people were hoping,’ market expert and former Goldman Sachs analyst Nic Puckrin told the Daily Mail.
Behind the spike in prices lies the conflict in the Middle East, which has driven one of the largest global oil shocks in decades.
While the US has become one of the biggest oil producers and exporters, oil prices are set in the global market, which means that the huge dislocations in worldwide supply and demand are dictating US domestic energy prices.
Data from AAA shows the national average US gasoline price surpassed $4.30 a gallon at the end of April, marking another four-year high – and they’re even higher today, around $4.50.
