By Nick Dobbins
May 2021
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.8 percent in April on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.6 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The index for used cars and trucks rose 10.0 percent. This was the largest one-month increase since the series began in 1953, and it accounted for over a third of the seasonally adjusted all items increase. The food index increased 0.4 percent as the indices for food at home and food away from home both increased. The energy index decreased slightly, as a decline in the index for gasoline in April more than offset increases in the indices for electricity and natural gas. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent in April, its largest monthly increase since April 1982. Nearly all major component indices increased. Along with the index for used cars and trucks, the indices for shelter, airline fares, recreation, motor vehicle insurance, and household furnishings and operations were among the indices with a large impact on the overall increase.
The all items index rose 4.2 percent for the 12 months ending April, a larger increase than the 2.6-percent increase for the period ending March, and the largest 12-month increase since a 4.9-percent increase for the period ending September 2008. Similarly, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.0 percent over the last 12 months, a larger increase than the 1.6-percent rise over the 12-month period ending in March. The energy index rose 25.1 percent over the last 12-months, and the food index increased 2.4 percent.
