US inflation beat forecasts in April but remained high at 4.9%

Annual rate has fallen sharply since hitting 40-year high last June but prices are still rising at a rate over twice the Fed's target

The price of goods and services in the US remained stubbornly high in April, rising 4.9.% from a year ago, the labor department reported on Wednesday,

The annual rate of inflation has fallen sharply since hitting a 40-year high of 9.1% last June. April's rise nearly matched the 5% rise recorded in March. It was the 10th consecutive month the rate has declined, but prices are still rising at a rate that is more than twice the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2% a year.