BREAKING: Inflation rate drops to 2.3% in April, bucking tariff concerns

The inflation rate dropped to 2.3 percent year over year in April amid concerns that prices would spike due to the trade war that was sparked by President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on imports to the US. The year-on-year inflation rate in March was 2.4 percent.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the year-on-year rate of inflation dropped from 2.4 percent in March to 2.3 percent in April, despite concerns that Trump's tariffs would increase prices in the US. Month-over-month, inflation increased by 0.2 percent. The inflation rate was expected to remain steady, but it has now dropped over the last three consecutive months. 

“The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, after falling 0.1 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, all items index increased 2.3 percent before seasonal adjustment,” the release said.  

Energy prices dropped by 3.7 percent year over year, according to the release. Food normally consumed at home increased in price by 2 percent year over year while food generally increased in price by 2.8 percent from April 2024. 

Leading up to the release of the April numbers, some had concerns that the tariffs implemented by the Trump administration would have raised prices, increasing the rate of inflation last month. On April 2, Trump announced a slew of tariffs on "Liberation Day," which went into effect for a short period, but were scaled back to a widespread 10 percent tariff covering most goods being imported to the US. 

China, however, was hit with a tariff of 145 percent by the US until a deal was struck over this past weekend to lower US tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 percent while China lowered its 125 tariffs on US goods to 10 percent.