Inflation declined to 4.9% in April in encouraging sign for economy

Inflation cooled slightly to 4.9% for the year ending in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday, a welcome sign that the Federal Reserve's efforts to tame price growth are working.

The much-anticipated numbers from the consumer price index show that, while inflation is much too high, it is cooling in response to the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes, the most recent of which came last week.

Inflation had been running at 5% the month before. Tuesday’s report marks 10 straight months of declines in annual inflation after the rate peaked at a whopping 9.1% in June.

Meanwhile, “core inflation,” which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 5.5% in the year ending in April.

Soaring inflation has buffeted households over the past two years and undercut support for President Joe Biden and his agenda. Republicans have blamed the high inflation on the administration's spending measures.