Consumer prices in the United States accelerated in April after months of declines, with measures of underlying inflation suggesting that rising costs could persist for months to come.

Prices rose 0.4% from March to April, the government said Wednesday, up from 0.1% from February to March. Compared with a year earlier, prices climbed 4.9%, down just slightly from March's year-over-year increase.

The nation's inflation rate has steadily cooled since peaking at 9.1% last June but remains far above the Federal Reserve's 2% target rate.

The Fed is paying particular attention to so-called core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs and are regarded as a better gauge of longer-term inflation trends. Core prices rose 0.4% from March to April, the same as from February to March. It was the fifth straight month that core prices have risen by 0.4% or more. Increases at that pace are far above the Fed's 2% target.

Compared with a year ago, core prices rose 5.5%, just below a yearly increase of 5.6% in March.

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