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Inflation in the United States reached a four-year low during the month of April, quelling fears of a potentially crippling reemergence of higher prices due to uncertainty regarding global trade wars.
According to data (.pdf) released on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the consumer price index (CPI) – a basket of goods and services purchased by urban consumers – climbed 0.2% last month and is up 2.3% over the past year.
That’s the lowest annual growth rate this critical inflationary measure has seen in more than four years.
Core inflation – which excludes food and energy prices – also rose by just 0.2% in April and is up 2.8% over the past year, the lowest annual growth rate in four years. Energy prices climbed by 0.7% while food prices dipped by 0.1%. For those of you tracking the cost of eggs – which has become something of a political football – those tumbled by 12.7%, the largest monthly drop in four decades.
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The last time inflation was this low was February 2021 – former president Joe Biden‘s first full month on the job. We all know what happened with inflation during Biden’s term – although FITSNews has consistently pointed out how the first administration of Donald Trump contributed to those price pressures.
All told, inflation soared by an astronomical 21.25% under Biden and Kamala Harris. More ominously, real wages declining by 1.6% compared to the 6.8% uptick they experienced during Trump’s first term. Perhaps more than any other reason, those price hikes – and the impact they had on middle class wages – led to Trump’s resounding 2024 victory.
To be clear: inflation is not inherently bad. As I’ve often noted, expanded employment and higher incomes drive economic growth – but those new jobs and income increases aren’t created in a vacuum. If the price of goods and services were to remain stagnant, the paychecks of the workers producing those goods and providing those services would likely remain stagnant as well. And companies wouldn’t hire new workers.
Growth has to come from somewhere, people… and as long as inflation is held in check, it can help stimulate growth.
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RELATED | JOE BIDEN’S FINAL NUMBERS
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The optimum rate of annual inflation is approximately 2% – a target the economy consistently failed to hit under former president Barack Obama. The annual rate of inflation for 2016 was just 1.26% while in 2015 it clocked in at a meager 0.12%. The two percent threshold was also missed in 2014 (1.62%) and 2013 (1.47%).
During Trump’s first term, inflation hit its target rate in 2017 (2.1%) and 2018 (2.4%) but slipped just below it the following year (1.8%). In 2020, inflation registered an anemic 1.2% thanks in large part to the Covid-19 shutdown.
Under Biden, inflation peaked at 8% in 2022 – four times its optimal level – while clocking in at 4.7% in 2021, 4.1% in 2023 and 3.2% last year.
Count on FITSNews to keep our audience apprised of how this key economic indicator progresses during Trump’s second term. Also, count on us to track how its rising and falling reverberates across the political spectrum.
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THE DATA…
(BLS)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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