April 2026 CPI: Inflation rises in April as Iran war raises energy prices
Meridian Equity Partners senior managing partner Jonathan Corpina analyzes how the Iran and OpenAI news has driven the market struggle in ‘The Claman Countdown.’
This is an ongoing story about the April 2026 CPI inflation report and will be updated with more details.
Inflation has risen in April as consumer prices rose amid the impact of the Iran war on the energy market and the broader economy.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday said Consumer price index (CPI) – a broad measure of how much everyday goods such as fuel, groceries and rent cost – rose 0.6% from last month and 3.8% higher than a year ago. That is the highest level since May 2023.
Expectations versus reality
The 0.6% monthly increase was in line with the expectations of economists polled by the LSEG, while the annual figure was hotter than the forecast of 3.7%.
So-called core prices, which exclude variable rates of fuel and food to better gauge price growth trends, were up 0.4% monthly and 2.8% from a year ago. Both of those figures were above economist forecasts of 0.3% and 2.7%, respectively.
AMERICANS TRUST CREDIT CARDS AND BUY NOW, PAY LATER AS GAS PRICES EAT A HUGE SHARE OF INCOME.
Economists noted that inflation data from December 2025 to April 2026 will be affected by data collection occurring during the 43-day government shutdown.
During the shutdown, the BLS was unable to collect data and used a carry forward method to cover the missing October CPI report and the missing data in the November report. Economists say this is likely to transmit a downward bias in inflation data until this spring, when new data will eliminate the discrepancy.
Cost of living deterioration
High inflation has put a lot of financial pressure in recent years on many US households, who are forced to pay more for everyday necessities like food and rent. Inflation is especially hard on low-income Americans, because they tend to spend more of their already stretched paychecks on necessities and have less flexibility to save.
Energy prices rose 3.8% in April amid Iran’s war on oil supply disruptions in the Middle East, with prices up 17.9% a year earlier. The BLS noted that the energy index accounted for more than 40% of the CPI increase in April.
High gas prices strain household budgets. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
GAS PRICE INCREASE HITS POOR HOUSEHOLDS HARDEST, FED STUDY FINDS
Gasoline prices rose 5.4% in April and are up 28.4% from a year ago. Electricity prices are up 2.8% monthly and up 6.1% from last year. Consumer gas service prices fell 0.1% in April and rose 3% last year.
Food prices rose 0.5% in April and are up 3.2% from a year ago. The household consumption index increased by 0.7% monthly and increased by 2.9% from last year. Food away from home increased 0.2% in April and is 3.6% higher than a year ago.
House prices were up 0.6% in April and up 3.3% from a year ago. Renters and home insurance costs rose 0.1% month-over-month but rose 7.2% year-over-year.
Transportation service prices were up 0.3% on the month and 4.3% higher than last year. Air fares posted the biggest increase, rising 2.8% in April and up 20.7% year-on-year.
