U.S. consumer prices jumped in April at the fastest pace in more than three years, propelled by rising gasoline prices, as underlying inflationary pressures continued to firm.
The consumer-price index, which measures what Americans pay for everything from fresh fruit to footwear, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in April from the prior month after rising 0.1% in March, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That was the largest one-month increase since February 2013.
A measure of underlying price pressures, which excludes the often-volatile categories of food and energy, rose 0.2% last month after ticking up 0.1% in March. Core prices were up 2.1% from a year earlier, a fifth consecutive month of annual growth above 2%—the longest such streak in four years.
"Overall core-services inflation continues to gradually firm, and we expect further firming this year," said Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Barclays, in a note to clients. "We view this rise in inflation as consistent with our view that reduced slack in the U.S. economy will continue to put upward pressure on prices."
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 0.3% increase in overall prices last month, and a 0.2% rise for core prices from March.
Overall prices rose 1.1% in April from a year earlier, up from a 0.9% annual gain in March. Annual inflation hovered around zero for most of 2015.
Prices rose last month for food, energy, medical supplies and shelter, but clothing and car prices declined from March. The cost of rent was up 3.7% on the year for a fifth consecutive month in April, matching the strongest growth pace 2008.
Still, outside of the jump in gas prices, there are signs that inflationary pressures may be moderating somewhat from earlier this year. Annual core-price growth rose steadily and hit 2.3% in February, but slipped to 2.2% in March and 2.1% last month.
"The extremely rapid acceleration in the beginning of the year was unlikely to be sustained, but growth over the past few months is still consistent with rising inflation," Credit Suisse analyst Jeremy Schwartz said in a note to clients.
The plunge in global oil prices since mid-2014 has pushed down U.S. price gauges, while a strong dollar has made imports cheaper for domestic consumers. But those pressures may be starting to ease. Oil prices have moved higher in recent months, and the dollar has weakened against other major currencies.
Federal Reserve officials are watching for signs of firming inflation as they debate when to raise short-term interest rates. Private forecasters are divided on whether the central bank might act at its coming meetings in mid-June, late-July or mid-September.
U.S. price growth has undershot the Fed's 2% annual target for roughly four years as measured by the central bank's preferred inflation gauge, the Commerce Department's personal-consumption expenditures price index. The PCE price index rose 0.8% in March from a year earlier and core prices were up 1.6%.
"Inflation is expected to remain low in the near term, in part because of earlier declines in energy prices, but to rise to 2% over the medium term as the transitory effects of declines in energy and import prices dissipate and the labor market strengthens further," the Fed said in its April 27 policy statement.
Core prices, excluding food and energy, can offer insight into underlying inflationary pressures and appeared to gain traction in late 2015 and into the new year. In February, annual core inflation was 2.3% as measured by the CPI and 1.7% as measured by the PCE index. But both measures softened the next month, and Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen cautioned in a late-March speech that it was "too early to tell if this recent faster pace will prove durable."
In a separate Labor Department report on Tuesday, Americans' average weekly earnings adjusted for inflation rose 0.2% in April from the prior month. Real average hourly earnings fell 0.1%, but the length of the average workweek rose 0.3%.
Write to Ben Leubsdorf at ben.leubsdorf@wsj.com
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