BLBG: Prices paid by U.S. consumers rise 0.4% in April
By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. consumer prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in April, led by higher gasoline costs, the Labor Department reported Friday. So-called core prices rose a lesser 0.2%. The core data strips out volatile food and energy costs. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast CPI to rise 0.4% overall, with a 0.2% increase in the core rate. Consumer prices have jumped an unadjusted 3.2% over the past year, the largest 12-month increase since October 2008. Average hourly earnings of U.S. workers, meanwhile, fell 0.3% last month after taking inflation into account. Inflation-adjusted hourly wages are down 1.2% over the past 12 months.
