Consumer Prices Keep Climbing in April

Yep, G DUHbya brought us back to the good old days.

By JEANNINE AVERSA, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Inflation appears to be stirring from its hibernation. Consumer prices are advancing in the first four months of this year at a pace twice as fast as the increase for all of 2003.


That in turn is increasing chances that the Federal Reserve (news - web sites) will boost interest rates next month, according to a growing number of analysts. They point to a string of economic reports, from sizable gains in the nation's payrolls to brisk manufacturing activity, that paint a picture of an economic resurgence that is beginning to fan inflation.


"The economy is just taking off and is taking inflation with it," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com. "I think it is just too much for the Fed to ignore, and they will have to tighten policy in June."


From January to April, consumer prices rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.4 percent, compared with a 1.9 percent increase for last year, the Labor Department (news - web sites) reported Friday. This year's pickup has been led by sharply higher energy prices, especially for gasoline.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=668&e=2&u=/ap/20040514/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy

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