By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. consumer prices fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in April, as sharply lower gasoline costs offset a small increase in food prices, the Labor Department said Thursday. Energy prices sank 4.3%, led by a 8.1% drop in gasoline. Food prices rose 0.2%, however. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, edged up 0.1%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.3% decrease in the broad CPI and a 0.2% gain in the core rate. Consumer prices have risen an unadjusted 1.1% over the past 12 months, the lowest level since late 2010. The core rate has risen a tame 1.7% in the same span. Real or inflation-adjusted hourly wages, meanwhile, jumped a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in April. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% last month, though a decline in hours worked kept weekly real earnings unchanged. The average workweek declined by 0.6% in April.
