Inflation eased to a four-year low in April as the nascent impact of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs were offset by their cost-dampening effects in a slowing economy. Overall consumer prices increased 2.

The Federal Reserve will have little reason to change its wait-and-see stance as a result of April's inflation reading from the consumer-price index. The figures were largely in line with the expectations of forecasters who closely track how the Labor Department measures inflation.

U.S. consumer prices rebounded moderately in April as declining food costs partially offset rising rents, leading to the smallest annual increase in four years, but the inflation outlook remains unclear against the backdrop of tariffs.