US consumer prices surge in April

US consumer prices increased more than expected as booming demand amid a reopening economy pushed against supply constraints, which could fuel financial market fears of a lengthy period of higher inflation.

The consumer price index jumped 0.8 per cent last month after rising 0.6 per cent in March, the Labor Department said on Wednesday.

Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI soared 0.9 per cent. The so-called core CPI rose 0.3 per cent in March.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the overall CPI climbing 0.2 per cent and the core CPI rising 0.3 per cent.