Trends: Consumer Price Index Posts Largest Monthly Decline Since Great Recession

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday that the Consumer Price Index declined 0.8 percent in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, the largest monthly decline since December 2008, the early stages of the Great Recession.Over the past 12 months, the all-items index increased 0.3 percent before seasonal adjustment.A nearly 20 percent decline in the gasoline index was the largest contributor to the

monthly decrease, but the indexes for apparel, motor vehicle insurance, airline fares, and lodging away from home all fell sharply as well. In contrast, food indexes rose in April, with the index for food at home posting its largest monthly increase since February 1974. The energy index declined, mostly due to the decrease in the gasoline index.

The index for all items less food and energy fell 0.4 percent in April, the largest monthly decline in the history of the series, which dates to 1957. Along with the indexes mentioned above, the indexes for used cars and trucks and recreation also declined. The indexes for rent, owners’ equivalent rent, medical care, and household furnishings and operations all increased in April.