What the Consumer Price(s) Index for All Urban Consumers is Reporting Today

Brief Four minute read with graphs and tables.

The Consumer Price(s) Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, after rising 0.9 percent in March. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported May 12, 2026.

The biggies here? Energy rose 3.8 percent in April, accounting for over forty percent of the monthly all items increase. Some graph details for Energy, Shelter, Food, Food at Home, (Food away from Home not shown). Some 12 month detail below . . . minus two months,

Shelter index also increased in April, rising 0.6 percent.

Food Index increased 0.5 percent over the month.

Index for food at home rose 0.7 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in April. Indexes that increased over the month include household furnishings and operations, airline fares, personal care, apparel, and education. Conversely, the indexes for new vehicles, communication, and medical care were among the major indexes that decreased in April.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in April.

The all items index rose 3.8 percent for the 12 months ending April, after rising 3.3 percent for the 12 months ending March. The all items less food and energy index rose 2.8 percent over the year, following a 2.6 percent increase over the 12 months ending March. The energy index increased 17.9 percent for the 12 months ending April. The food index increased 3.2 percent over the last year.

Table A (below) charts all the changes for each category and also the inputs to each category. There is a greater discuss for each category (Shelter, Energy, food, etc. starting on page 3 of this report: Consumer Price Index – April 2026. Numerical detail is below in Table A, “Percent Changes in CPI for All Urban Consumers” below:

Rather than sit here and explain what Trump’s nbold presidency has resulted in for America, I will pull some detail from CATO.

“More recently, inflation has accelerated again. The consumer price index increased 0.6 percent in April after rising 0.9 percent in March, meaning prices are up 3.8 percent in the past year. Energy prices led the pack, rising 3.8 percent in one month. The PCE price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation metric, rose 0.7 percent in March, too, also driven largely by energy prices.

Some of those price rises were to be expected. War in Iran has driven gasoline prices 28.4% above year- ago levels, and that mostly explains the 20.7% surge in the highly salient airline fares. But the concern with oil shocks is that they can pass through into virtually all other prices. This is because oil products are common inputs in several industries and significantly determine the cost of transporting goods and services. The evidence suggests that such price pressure is already broad-based: core goods are up 2.7 percent from a year ago, services 3.3%, and groceries are nearly 3% higher.” 

“C’est la vie” and will not change till he leaves off, if he does . . .

“12-month percentage change,” Consumer Price Index, selected categories

Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Consumer Price Index,” April 2026 Report