Stock market today: Nasdaq, S&P 500, Dow fall as Wall Street weighs CPI inflation print

Consumer prices rose 0.6% in April over the previous month, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday morning, in line with expectations and below March’s 0.9% increase.

The inflation measure rose 3.8% year over year, exceeding expectations of 3.7% and March’s 3.3% reading. April’s year-over-year increase is the largest such jump since May 2023.

The “core” Consumer Price Index, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, rose by 0.4% from the previous month and 2.8% over the previous year.

Both readings were above economists’ expectations of 0.3% month over month and 2.7% year over year. The monthly reading for core inflation also outperformed March’s 0.2% monthly rise and 2.6% yearly increase.

Underneath the headline figures, the top-line energy price index rose 3.8% in April, with energy commodities — a category that includes gasoline and fuel oil — up 5.6%. Energy services, which include electricity and utility-supplied natural gas, rose 1.6%, balancing out to the top-line figure.

On an annual basis, energy prices are up 17.9%, with yearly increases on gasoline and fuel oil of 28.4% and 54.3%, respectively, pushing that figure north.

Elsewhere in the report, food prices rose 0.5% on the month, with those prices now up 3.2% year over year. While there hasn’t been much signal of this happening yet, economists have been warning that the loss of fertilizers from the Persian Gulf during the war in Iran is set to put upward pressure on food prices.

In another sign of the war’s impact, airline fares were up 20.7% year-on-year in April, according to the BLS, with a 6.3% monthly increase contributing.