The index increased by 2.3 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis compared with April 2011, the smallest change since February 2011. 

Gasoline prices fell in April, down 2.6 percent, causing the total energy index to fall for the first time in three months. 

Retail sales prices stayed steady as well, increasing only 0.1 percent from April. Economists attributed March’s jump of 0.7 percent in retail prices to Easter occurring earlier in the calendar and uncommon warmer weather at the beginning of the year.

Food prices also increased in April, up 0.2 percent, bringing the total increase in food prices to 3.1 percent from the same time last year. 

“The consumer is holding up,” said Neil Dutta, an economist at Bank of America Corp. in New York, who correctly forecast the sales gain, in an interview with Bloomberg. “The key thing here is to determine to what extent the weather had an effect, and it’s pretty clear if you look at the components there was some weather impact.”