Consumer prices jumped higher than expected in April, data from the Department of Labor showed Wednesday.
The Consumer Price Index climbed 4.2 percent annually in April. Compared with March, prices rose 0.8 percent.
The annual inflation figure is the largest increase since 2008. Economists had forecast a year-over-year gain of 3.6 percent and 0.2 percent for the month.
Excluding food and energy, categories that can be volatile month-to-month, “core” CPI rose 0.9 percent compared with a month ago, three times faster than the estimate. On an annual basis, core prices are up 3.0 percent, above the 2.3 percent estimated.
