The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, after falling 0.1 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the…
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics6 min read
Historical releaseThe figures below describe the original reporting period. They are not today’s rates or a current economic forecast.Today’s market brief →
Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, after falling 0.1 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.3 percent before seasonal adjustment.
The index for shelter rose 0.3 percent in April, accounting for more than half of the all items monthly increase. The energy index also increased over the month, rising 0.7 percent as increases in the natural gas index and the electricity index more than offset a decline in the gasoline index. The index for food, in contrast, fell 0.1 percent in April as the food at home index decreased 0.4 percent and the food away from home index rose 0.4 percent over the month.
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in April, following a 0.1-percent increase in March. Indexes that increased over the month include household furnishings and operations, medical care, motor vehicle insurance, education, and personal care. The indexes for airline fares, used cars and trucks, communication, and apparel were among the major indexes that decreased in April.
The all items index rose 2.3 percent for the 12 months ending April, after rising 2.4 percent over the 12 months ending March. The April change was the smallest 12-month increase in the all items index since February 2021. The all items less food and energy index rose 2.8 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index decreased 3.7 percent for the 12 months ending April. The food index increased 2.8 percent over the last year.
Changes to leased cars and trucks source data and methodology
Effective with this release, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has replaced the survey data collected for the CPI's leased cars and trucks index with transaction data purchased from a vendor to increase the accuracy of the index.
The Measuring Price Change in the CPI: Leased cars and trucks factsheet at www.bls.gov/cpi/factsheets/leased-cars-and-trucks.htm has been updated to reflect these changes.
Food
The index for food decreased 0.1 percent in April, after rising 0.4 percent in March. The food at home index fell 0.4 percent over the month, the largest decline in that index since September 2020. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes decreased in April. Driven primarily by a 12.7-percent decrease in the index for eggs, the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs fell 1.6 percent in April after rising in recent months. The fruits and vegetables index decreased 0.4 percent over the month and the cereals and bakery products index declined 0.5 percent. The index for other food at home decreased 0.1 percent in April and the index for dairy and related products fell 0.2 percent. In contrast, the nonalcoholic beverages index increased 0.7 percent over the month.
The food away from home index rose 0.4 percent in April. The index for full service meals rose 0.6 percent over the month and the index for limited service meals rose 0.3 percent.
The index for food at home rose 2.0 percent over the last 12 months. The meats, poultry, fish, and eggs index rose 7.0 percent over the last 12 months as the eggs index increased 49.3 percent. The index for nonalcoholic beverages increased 3.2 percent over the same period, while the index for other food at home rose 0.7 percent. The dairy and related products index increased 1.6 percent over the 12 months ending in April. The cereals and bakery products index was unchanged over the year, while the index for fruits and vegetables decreased 0.9 percent over the same period.
The food away from home index rose 3.9 percent over the last year. The index for full service meals rose 4.3 percent and the index for limited service meals rose 3.4 percent over the same period.
Energy
The energy index increased 0.7 percent in April, after falling 2.4 percent in March. The index for natural gas rose 3.7 percent over the month and the index for electricity increased 0.8 percent. The gasoline index decreased 0.1 percent over the month. (Before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices increased 2.9 percent in April.)
The index for energy decreased 3.7 percent over the past 12 months. The gasoline index fell 11.8 percent over this 12-month span and the fuel oil index fell 9.6 percent over that period. In contrast, the index for electricity increased 3.6 percent over the last 12 months and the index for natural gas rose 15.7 percent.
All items less food and energy
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in April, following a 0.1-percent increase in March. The shelter index increased 0.3 percent over the month. The index for owners' equivalent rent rose 0.4 percent in April and the index for rent increased 0.3 percent. The lodging away from home index fell 0.1 percent in April.
The index for household furnishings and operations increased 1.0 percent in April, after being unchanged in March. The motor vehicle insurance index rose 0.6 percent in April. The index for education increased 0.1 percent over the month, as did the index for personal care. In contrast, the airline fares index fell 2.8 percent in April, after declining 5.3 percent in March. The index for used cars and trucks fell 0.5 percent over the month, and the indexes for communication and apparel also declined. The new vehicles index and the recreation index were unchanged in April.
The medical care index increased 0.5 percent over the month. The index for hospital services increased 0.6 percent in April and the index for physicians' services rose 0.3 percent over the month. The prescription drugs index rose 0.4 percent in April.
The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.8 percent over the past 12 months. The shelter index increased 4.0 percent over the last year. Other indexes with notable increases over the last year include medical care (+2.7 percent), motor vehicle insurance (+6.4 percent), education (+3.8 percent), and recreation (+1.6 percent).
Not seasonally adjusted CPI measures
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 2.3 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 320.795 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.3 percent prior to seasonal adjustment.
The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 2.1 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 314.243 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.3 percent prior to seasonal adjustment.
The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 2.1 percent over the last 12 months. For the month, the index increased 0.3 percent on a not seasonally adjusted basis. Please note that the indexes for the past 10 to 12 months are subject to revision.
Rebasing of Selected Consumer Price Index Series
With the publication of July 2025 data on August 12, 2025, several CPI series will be rebased to December 2024 = 100. When new base years are introduced, BLS recalculates each index back to the beginning of that series to ensure continuity. A complete list of indexes to be rebased is available at www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/rebased-series.htm.
Archived Nov 11, 2026. Source reuse policy. Formatting has been adapted for reading; the source’s conclusions remain attributed to its publisher.
MortgageRates.news analysis · Historical context
The mortgage market around this release
This original analysis is separate from the source article. It compares observed benchmarks around ; historical averages and yields are not current mortgage offers.
Read consumer inflation on a consistent basis
The Consumer Price Index measures changes in prices paid by urban consumers for a basket of goods and services. Check the index, reference month and seasonal adjustment before comparing figures. A monthly change and a twelve-month change describe different periods; the all-items index and the measure excluding food and energy cover different baskets. Consumer inflation informs the wider policy discussion, but the benchmark comparison below does not isolate this release from other information arriving during the month. BLS Consumer Price Index.
Nearest published observation on or before each target date
Calendar references, not an intraday reaction. A same-day market observation may have been published after a morning release. These figures do not show what was known at its exact publication time. One basis point (bp) is 0.01 percentage point; changes use the actual dated observations shown.
Dots show published observations only. Missing dates remain blank, with no interpolation. The series have different publication schedules and measure different markets.
What that benchmark difference would mean for a $300,000 loan
At the publication reference$1,947.79/month
6.76% · May 8, 2025
At the later reference$1,963.78/month
6.84% · Jun 12, 2025
The illustrative principal-and-interest payment is $15.99 higher per month. This holds the loan amount and term constant to show the arithmetic effect of the benchmark difference.
Assumptions: two separate hypothetical $300,000 loans, each fully amortizing over 30 years with 360 monthly payments and its stated fixed interest rate. Excludes points, lender fees, taxes, insurance, association charges and other costs. PMMS is a national average, not an APR or a personalized rate offer. These are not two payments on one existing loan.
Sources, historical coverage and calculation limits
Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey®: available observations from Apr 2, 1971 through Nov 5, 2026. Cached history snapshot. History retrieved or verified Nov 11, 2026.
U.S. Department of the Treasury: available observations from Jan 4, 2016 through Nov 10, 2026. Cached history snapshot. History retrieved or verified Nov 11, 2026.
The 30-day comparisons use calendar days. Each cell selects the last published observation on or before its target; no rates are synthesized for missing dates. Gaps greater than seven days for daily Treasury data or fourteen days for weekly mortgage data are marked unavailable. Forward comparisons require the date to have arrived and source coverage to extend through it.
Historical files may contain revisions and do not reconstruct precisely what every market participant knew at the time. Freddie Mac changed its PMMS collection methodology in November 2022. Cross-period comparisons should account for that change. These windows include other news and cannot establish causation or forecast the next rate move.