Consumer prices in the United States rose again in April, and measures of underlying inflation stayed high, suggesting that rising costs could persist for months to come. Prices rose 0.4 percent from March to April, up from 0.1 percent from February to March. Retired Ripon College economist Paul Schoofs says the nation’s inflation rate has steadily cooled since peaking at 9.1 percent last June, but remains far above the Federal Reserve’s two percent target rate. Schoofs says the Fed is paying particular attention to so-called core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs.
