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.

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.