Published: May 20, 2008 08:08 pm         

Wholesale inflation slows in April after March increase

WASHINGTON — Wholesale inflation slowed in April following a big jump in March but the improvement is likely to be temporary as consumers are battered in coming months by price hikes for gasoline, food and a host of other items.

Most worrisome of all, analysts said, were indications that surging energy and food costs were spreading to other parts of the economy, causing more widespread inflation problems.

For April, wholesale inflation was up 0.2 percent, the Labor Department reported Tuesday, following a much bigger 1.1 percent jump in March.