April CPI report: What's exactly in the latest inflation report - explaining key numbers

CPI report April 2025: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was released on Tuesday, showing inflation eased to a four-year low in April

Updated on: May 13, 2025, 18:26:21 IST

By Yash Nitish Bajaj

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CPI report April 2025: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was released on Tuesday, showing inflation eased to a four-year low in April as the initial impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs. Overall consumer prices increased 2.3% from a year earlier, down from a 2.4% rise the previous month.

The April 2025 CPI report was released on Tuesday (Bloomberg)

The CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), showed a 0.2% monthly increase on a seasonally adjusted basis, rebounding from a 0.1% decline in March. Over the 12 months ending April, the all-items index rose 2.3% before seasonal adjustment, the smallest annual increase since February 2021.

Key Drivers:

Shelter: Up 0.3% monthly, contributing over half the monthly rise. Owners’ equivalent rent increased 0.4%, rent 0.3%, and shelter rose 4.0% annually, a persistent inflationary pressure.

Energy: Rose 0.7% monthly, led by natural gas (+3.7%) and electricity (+0.8%), though gasoline dipped 0.1% (or -2.3%). Annually, energy fell 3.7%, with gasoline down 11.8% and fuel oil -9.6%, but natural gas surged 15.7%.

Food: Declined 0.1% monthly, with food at home down 0.4%—the largest drop since September 2020—driven by a 12.7% fall in eggs. Food away from home rose 0.4%. Annually, food increased 2.8%, with food at home up 2.0%, eggs +49.3%, and food away from home +3.9%.

Core CPI (excluding food and energy): Up 0.2% monthly (versus 0.1% in March) and 2.8% annually (down from 3.2% or 3.3% in prior reports), reflecting stable underlying inflation.

Other Notable Changes:

Increases: Household furnishings (+1.0%), motor vehicle insurance (+0.6%), medical care (+0.5%), hospital services (+0.6%), prescription drugs (+0.4%), education (+0.1%), and personal care (+0.1%).

Declines: Airline fares (-2.8%), used cars and trucks (-0.5%), apparel (-0.2%), and communication.

Annual Gains: Motor vehicle insurance (+6.4%), education (+3.8%), medical care (+2.7%), and recreation (+1.6%).

The BLS replaced survey data for the leased cars and trucks index with vendor transaction data to enhance accuracy. The CPI-U index reached 320.795 (1982-84=100), up 0.3% unadjusted monthly. The CPI-W rose 2.1% annually, and the Chained CPI-U increased 2.1%. Selected CPI series will be rebased to December 2024=100 with July 2025 data.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yash Nitish Bajaj
Yash Bajaj is a Chief Content Producer with a strong foundation in US coverage, digital strategy, and audience-focused storytelling. As part of the US Desk at Hindustan Times, he covers a wide range of topics - from American politics to sports (NFL, NBA, derbies, MLB and more). Before joining Hindustan Times, Yash served as Deputy News Editor at Times Now, where he oversaw international coverage and led a team of six. In this role, he significantly expanded global traffic through strategic planning, SEO-driven content execution, and meticulous trend tracking across platforms. He is experienced in managing high-pressure breaking-news shifts, coordinating live coverage, and building newsroom systems that improve speed, accuracy, and reach. Prior to Times Now, Yash held a position at Opoyi, where he headed the Sports and US news team. He developed broad editorial strategies, guided reporters across multiple beats, and played a key role in recruiting and training new talent. His responsibilities also extended to social media management and experimenting with innovative content formats. A passionate NFL fan, Yash is a die-hard supporter of the Cincinnati Bengals and has followed Joe Burrow closely since his college days at LSU. Whether breaking down top players' latest performance, analyzing team performances, or tracking roster moves, he brings the same dedication and sharp storytelling to his sports coverage as he does to American politics and breaking news. When he’s not writing, Yash can often be found watching games or debating the latest NFL storylines with fellow fans. Yash holds a Bachelor of Mass Media (Journalism) from HR College, Mumbai University. His interests extend well beyond the newsroom: he is an enthusiastic explorer of AI tools, a movie buff with an ever-growing watchlist, and someone who enjoys unraveling conspiracy theories for fun.Read More

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