Hotter inflation is staying a central focus for U.S. consumers and investors as energy prices remain elevated from the war in Iran, according to a weekly roundup of major economic releases. The Labor Department’s latest consumer and producer price readings indicate that increases tied to gasoline and other energy costs are still filtering through to both households and companies, even as other parts of the economy show signs of holding up.
The consumer side of the data shows inflation accelerating again, with the Labor Department’s consumer price index rising 3.8% in April compared with April 2025. On a month-to-month basis, the CPI increased 0.6% from March, as gasoline prices rose 5.4% during the month. Energy costs have also been running well above year-ago levels, with gasoline up more than 28% compared with a year earlier, and AAA reported the average gallon costs motorists more than $4.50, about 44% higher than last year at this time.
Wholesale inflation also came in hot. The Labor Department reported that its producer price index, which tracks inflation before it reaches consumers, rose 1.4% in April—its biggest monthly increase since March 2022—and was up 6% from a year earlier. The April rise reflected energy price gains of 7.8% from March to April and 22.7% from a year earlier, with gasoline up 15.6% for the month and diesel—described as the dominant fuel used in shopping—up 12.6%.
Stripping out volatile food and energy costs, the producer price readings still pointed to pressure. The core producer prices increase reported in April was 1% from March and 5.2% compared with April 2025, and the roundup said the overall figures were higher than economists forecast. Those wholesale increases matter for business pricing decisions because they can raise expectations that companies may pass along more of their higher costs.
Despite that inflation backdrop, the labor market signals in the roundup were mixed rather than deteriorating sharply. The Labor Department reported that applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending May 9 rose by 12,000 to 211,000. The roundup described weekly filings as a proxy for layoffs and a close-to-real-time indicator of job-market health, and said the number remained historically low even with economic uncertainty linked to the Iran war.
At the same time, economists cited in the roundup said the labor market appears “stuck” in a “low-hire, low-fire” state, which helps keep the unemployment rate low but leaves some people who lose jobs struggling to find new work. The roundup said unemployment is at 4.3%, but characterized job matching as slow enough to affect those seeking replacements.
Consumer spending also showed restraint, with higher gasoline prices leaving some households with less money for nonessentials. The Commerce Department data cited in the roundup showed retail sales rose 0.5% in April, slower than the 1.6% growth in March. Excluding gasoline, retail sales were up 0.3% in April, compared with a 0.7% pace the previous month excluding gas station sales.
Housing data in the roundup was described as lackluster for April, despite the market’s seasonal peak. The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales edged up 0.2% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million units, and were unchanged compared with April 2025. The figure also fell short of an expected roughly 4.12 million annual rate cited in the roundup, with home sales hovering near a 4 million pace going back to 2023.
On borrowing costs, the roundup reported easing after recent increases. Freddie Mac said the average long-term 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.36% from 6.37% the previous week—its first drop after rising for two prior weeks—and was 6.81% a year earlier. The same report showed the average 15-year fixed rate fell to 5.71% from 5.72% last week, compared with 5.92% a year ago.
The roundup also noted financial market reaction to inflation worries. It said the U.S. stock market fell from its records on Friday and that stocks joined a worldwide drop as higher oil prices sent a shiver through the bond market, with the decline coming after a week in which investors had been buoyed by artificial-intelligence technology gains.