April 2026 CPI: +2.6% year-over-year, shelter still doing the work

Headline CPI came in at 2.6% year-over-year for April 2026, unchanged from March. Core CPI (excluding food and energy) was 3.1%, down 0.1 point from 3.2% in March. Month-over-month, headline rose 0.2%, core 0.3%.

Shelter was the main story at +4.8% year-over-year, contributing roughly 1.8 percentage points to headline. Owners’ equivalent rent has decelerated from its 2024 peak but refuses to break below 4%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses a lagged rent survey that captures leases signed 6-12 months ago, so the official measure is still catching up to the cooldown in new-lease asking rents that began in late 2025.

Goods deflation continues: used cars fell -2.1% year-over-year, apparel -0.8%. Energy was up +3.4% on the year after last spring’s base effect drops out. The Fed watches core PCE more closely than CPI, which is expected to print around 2.5% when BEA releases April data later this month.