US PPI Jumps 6% in April as Consumer Inflation Hits 3.8%

14 articles · Updated · CNBC · May 13

April producer prices rose 6% from a year earlier—the biggest increase since December 2022—while consumer prices climbed 3.8%, underscoring a fresh inflation flare-up.
Energy drove much of the pressure: gasoline prices were up 28.4% year over year, the average pump price reached $4.51 a gallon from about $3.16, and Brent crude traded near $105 a barrel.
That inflation pulse is deepening a split market, with Nvidia and Alphabet gaining as AI spending lifts chip demand while industrials, real estate and consumer staples lag.
Over three months, the divergence has widened sharply: Micron has surged more than 93% while Home Depot has fallen more than 23%, reflecting a hot investment cycle alongside a squeezed consumer.
Analysts say markets are shifting focus from Strait of Hormuz headlines to a weakening midyear economic backdrop, even as headline indexes remain buoyed by a narrow technology rally.

As prices soar and growth slows, is the American economy on the brink of 1970s-style stagflation?

With Mideast oil choked off by war, which Western Hemisphere nations will become the new energy superpowers?

Is the global economy's reliance on a few shipping chokepoints a fatal flaw exposed by this war?