US consumer prices saw a significant surge last month, primarily driven by escalating energy costs amid the ongoing 10-week conflict with Iran .

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its consumer price index climbed 3.8% from April 2025.

On a monthly basis, prices in April rose 0.6% from March, with gasoline prices alone jumping 5.4%.

However, when volatile food and energy costs are excluded, so-called core consumer prices showed a more modest increase of 0.4% from March and 2.8% from April 2025.

This suggests that the sharp rise in energy prices has not yet broadly impacted other sectors of the economy.

Inflation had been on a downward trend since its peak of 9.1% year-over-year in June 2022, a surge attributed to supply chain disruptions post-COVID-19 lockdowns and an energy shock following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.…