The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the CPI data for last month this morning. Year-over-year Headline CPI came in at 2.30%, which the BLS rounds to 2.3%, down fractionally from 2.65% last month. Year-over year-Core CPI came in at 2.31%, which the BLS rounds to 2.3%, up fractionally from 2.26% last month.

Here are excerpts from the BLS summary:

The energy index, which had risen in each of the three previous months, declined in April on a seasonally adjusted basis and offset increases in the other major indexes. The gasoline index fell 2.6 percent in April and accounted for most of the decline in energy, though the indexes for natural gas and fuel oil decreased as well. The food index rose in April as five of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in April, the same increase as in March. Increases in the indexes for shelter, used cars and trucks, medical care, airline fares, new vehicles, and apparel all contributed significantly to the April increase.

The 12-month change in the index for all items was 2.3 percent in April, the lowest figure since February 2011. The index for all items less food and energy also increased 2.3 percent over the last 12 months. This is the first time since October 2009 that the 12-month all items change has not exceeded the 12-month change for all items less food and energy. The food index has risen 3.1 percent over the last 12 months, and the energy index has risen 0.9 percent.  More...

The Briefing.com consensus forecast for 0.0% for Headline and 0.2% Core month-over-month was spot on.

The first chart is an overlay of Headline CPI and Core CPI (the latter excludes Food and Energy) since 1957. The second chart gives a close-up of the two since 2000.

 

 

On this chart, I've highlighted the 2% level, which is generally understood to be the Fed's target for core inflation. Here we see more easily see the widening spread between headline and core CPI since late 2010, a pattern that began changing last October as headline inflation declined while core has continued to rise.

 

 

Federal Reserve policy, which focuses on core inflation, and especially the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), will see that the latest core CPI is fractionally above the target range.