As COVID-19 reshapes our economy, our newsletter will help you unpack the news from the day.
Why did inflation increase in April?
Clothes are displayed at a Manhattan store on May 17, 2016 in New York, New York. Consumer prices are up, according to the consumer price index.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Consumer prices were up in April, the Labor Department reported Tuesday but that doesn’t mean you should panic over inflation, yet.
The latest consumer price index, or CPI, increased by 0.4 percent in April. The seemingly small gain is actually the largest monthly increase in more than three years. But inflation is still low — this brings the total increase over the last year to 1.1 percent. Click the audio player above to hear more about what drove price increases and what didn’t. Spoiler alert: energy prices were a big factor.
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