A key U.S. inflation gauge slowed last month as President Donald Trump’s tariffs have yet to noticeably push up prices. Spending by Americans slowed despite rising incomes, potentially an early reaction to higher prices on some imported goods.
Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose just 2.1 per cent in April compared with a year earlier, down from 2.3 per cent in March and the lowest since September. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.5 per cent from a year earlier, below the March figure of 2.7 per cent, and the lowest in more than four years. Economists track core prices because they typically provide a better read on where inflation is headed.
The figures show inflation is still declining from its post-pandemic spike, which reached the highest level in four decades in July 2022. Economists and some business executives have warned that prices will …