U.S. consumer prices climbed sharply again last month as the 10-week war with Iran pushed energy prices higher.
The Labor Department’s consumer price index rose 3.8% from April 2025, according to data released Tuesday. On a month-to-month basis, April prices rose 0.6% from March as gasoline prices rose 5.4% during the month; the month-over-month gain was down from 0.9% increase from February to March.
Labor Department figures showed that gasoline prices are up more than 28% compared to a year ago. AAA says the average gallon of gasoline costs motorists more than $4.50 a gallon, about 44% more than it cost last year at this time.
Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called consumer core prices rose 0.4% last month from March and 2.8% from April 2025, relatively modest readings that suggest the energy price burst isn’t spilling over much yet into other prices.
Grocery prices rose 0.7% from March to April, as meat prices rose, after falling slightly the month before.
