Food Costs Push Inflation Up : Economy: California floods get much of the blame for 0.4% rise in April CPI. Analysts call the spike temporary.

The biggest surge in food costs in five years, led by soaring fruit and vegetable prices, pushed consumer prices up 0.4% in April, cramping family budgets and all but killing chances that the Federal Reserve Board will cut interest rates any time soon.

A Labor Department report released Friday shows prices climbing at their fastest clip since August as the cost of food, gasoline and air fares all shot up during the month. Flooding in California was a big factor in the food price increase.

Analysts suggested that the inflation burst is only temporary.

“We feel the economy has slowed enough that inflation will not get out of hand,” said Joel Prakken, an economist at Laurence H. Myer & Associates in St. Louis.

The price of food purchased at grocery stores soared 1.2%, its biggest jump since February, 1990, with 80% of the surge blamed on a 7.5% rise in fruit and vegetable prices, largely reflecting the damage from the California floods.

Lettuce prices rose a record 113.1% and tomato prices were up 15.6%.

There was also a sharp turnaround in energy prices, which rose 0.4% last month after falling 0.5% in March. The price of gasoline was up 0.6%, the biggest gain since November.

Excluding the volatile food and energy sectors, the core inflation rate was still up 0.4%.

Airline fares continued to rise sharply, climbing 3.4% in April.

The 0.4% advance in the consumer price index for April was double the 0.2% increase in March and was the biggest jump since a similar 0.4% rise last August.

For the year, consumer prices have been rising at an annual rate of 3.6%, a significant pickup from the 2.7% increase for all of 1994.

Separately, the Commerce Department reported that unsold business inventories rose 0.7% in March. The report could mean further production cutbacks in what is already shaping up as a weak quarter.