US consumer prices unexpectedly fell in April for the first time in a year, with the core annual rate recording its smallest gain since 1966, according to a government report today that pointed to scant inflation pressures and low interest rates.
The Labor Department said its seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index slipped 0.1 per cent, pulled down by a decline in energy costs, after a 0.1 per cent gain in March.
Analysts had forecast consumer prices up 0.1 per cent in April. In the 12 months through April, prices increased 2.2 per cent.