Highlights of the U.S. April CPI Report

1. Inflation Rate Drops to a Recent Low—Overall CPI annual rate falls to 2.3%, core CPI annual rate remains at 2.8%. Both indicators have reached the lowest growth rate since the inflation outbreak in spring 2021.

2. Monthly Increase Below Expectations—Overall CPI monthly rate and core CPI monthly rate both rise by 0.2%, lower than the market expectation of 0.3%. As usual, the increase in housing costs accounts for more than half of the overall monthly rate; prices for household goods, medical care, and car insurance drove the core monthly rate increase.

3. Tariff Effects Begin to Show but Are Not Obvious—Prices for household goods and audio equipment surged by 8.8% (the largest single-month increase on record), potentially reflecting initial tariff effects; however, economists say the overall impact remains to be seen, and subsequent data may more clearly reflect the tariff effects.

4. Divergence in Food and Energy Prices—U.S. grocery prices fell by 0.4% in April, with egg prices plummeting by 12.7%, marking the largest drop since 1984. This corroborates part of Trump's claims, but energy costs rose by 0.7%, contradicting his assertions. Seasonally adjusted gasoline prices slightly decreased, while natural gas prices soared.

5. Market Reaction to Data is Mild—After the CPI data was released, spot gold slightly rose before retreating, U.S. Treasury yields continued to rise but with limited fluctuations; the three major U.S. stock indices opened mixed, then continued to oscillate upward, with the Nasdaq rising over 1%.