WASHINGTON—Americans increased their spending by 0.5 percent in April, a slowdown after a massive gain in March that had been powered by the distribution of billions of dollars in individual stimulus checks. Even with the pullback from a 4.7 percent surge in spending in March, the April increase provided further evidence that consumers are driving a strengthening recovery from the pandemic recession. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department also showed that personal incomes, which provide the fuel for spending, tumbled 13.1 percent in April. But the drop in income was expected, having followed a record 20.9 percent income gain in March that reflected the billions in one-time checks to most adults. In addition, the report showed that inflation by a measure preferred by the Federal Reserve surged a bigger-than-expected 3.6 percent for the 12 months ending in April. Excluding volatile food and energy, the so-called core increase was a still …