US consumer prices rose a modest 0.2 percent in April

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices rose a modest 0.2 percent in April, lifted by higher gas costs, a sign that inflation pressures remain muted.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the consumer price index increased 2.5 percent in April from a year earlier, the biggest annual gain in 14 months. Yet excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices ticked up just 0.1 percent in April and 2.1 percent from a year earlier.

Inflation has increased steadily since last summer, when it rose just 1.6 percent in June from a year earlier. But core prices have risen more slowly.

Slower growth in core prices could make it less likely that the Federal Reserve will accelerate its interest rates increases. The Fed has signaled they will lift rates twice more this year.