CPI Rises 0.4% in April

The consumer price index rose 0.4% in April, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

The core CPI excluding food and energy rose 0.2%, Labor said.

The overall April increase followed March’s 0.6% gain, while core prices rose 0.1% in March.

The increase was below the 0.5% forecast by economists, Bloomberg reported. The core-price gain exceeded the projected 0.1% increase.

The CPI is the government’s broadest gauge of costs for goods and services. Almost 60% of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services.

If consumer prices are climbing, it could reflect an increase in demand for consumer goods, which increases the demand for trucking services.