The U.S. annual inflation rate slowed to 4.9 percent in April, down from 5 percent in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This is slightly lower than the consensus estimate of 5 percent. This represented the 10th consecutive monthly drop in the annual inflation rate.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4 percent month-over-month.
The core inflation rate, which strips the volatile food and energy components, also dipped to 5.5 percent last month, down from 5.6 percent in March. This matched market expectations. The core CPI jumped 0.4 percent from March to April.
On a year-over-year basis, the food index slowed to 7.7 percent, with supermarket prices coming in at 7.1 percent. The food away from home subindex rose 8.6 percent compared to a year ago….