US consumer price index rises to highest since 2023, as energy prices climb

Inflation rose to 3.8% year over year in April 2026, the highest since President Donald Trump’s second term in office. This was according to the latest Consumer Price Index released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday morning.The CPI measures how prices of goods change over time. Energy costs accounted for nearly half of the monthly all-items increase, according to the BLS. This comes as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran has choked global oil flows in the Strait of Hormuz and driven up gas prices. Fuel oil saw the highest among energy items, rising 5.8% in the past month. The gasoline index, which includes regular unleaded, midgrade unleaded and premium unleaded, also rose 5.4% from March 2026. Electricity saw a 2.1% month-over-month increase.The increase in fuel costs have trickled down to airline fares, which saw a 2.8% increase from the previous month. The food index appears to be unaffected by the war with Iran, rising 0.5% from March and less than 1% for groceries and food away from home. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4K Inflation rose to 3.8% year over year in April 2026, the highest since President Donald Trump’s second term in office. This was according to the latest Consumer Price Index released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday morning. Advertisement The CPI measures how prices of goods change over time. Energy costs accounted for nearly half of the monthly all-items increase, according to the BLS. This comes as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran has choked global oil flows in the Strait of Hormuz and driven up gas prices. Fuel oil saw the highest among energy items, rising 5.8% in the past month. The gasoline index, which includes regular unleaded, midgrade unleaded and premium unleaded, also rose 5.4% from March 2026. Electricity saw a 2.1% month-over-month increase. The increase in fuel costs have trickled down to airline fares, which saw a 2.8% increase from the previous month. The food index appears to be unaffected by the war with Iran, rising 0.5% from March and less than 1% for groceries and food away from home.