Key Measures of Inflation in April
Earlier today the BLS reported:
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was unchanged in April on a seasonally adjusted basis … The gasoline index fell 2.6 percent in April and accounted for most of the decline in energy, though the indexes for natural gas and fuel oil decreased as well. … The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in April, the same increase as in March.
The Cleveland Fed released the median CPI and the trimmed-mean CPI this morning:
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the median Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% (2.3% annualized rate) in April. The 16% trimmed-mean Consumer Price Index increased 0.2% (1.9% annualized rate) during the month. The median CPI and 16% trimmed-mean CPI are measures of core inflation calculated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland based on data released in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) monthly CPI report.
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Earlier today, the BLS reported that the seasonally adjusted CPI for all urban consumers was flat at 0.0% (0.4% annualized rate) in April. The CPI less food and energy increased 0.2% (2.9% annualized rate) on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Note: The Cleveland Fed has the median CPI details for April here.
Click on graph for larger image.
This graph shows the year-over-year change for these four key measures of inflation. On a year-over-year basis, the median CPI rose 2.4%, the trimmed-mean CPI rose 2.3%, and core CPI rose 2.3%. Core PCE is for March and increased 2.0% year-over-year.
These measures show inflation on a year-over-year basis is mostly still above the Fed’s 2% target.
