Strauss Sees Need To Curb Inflation: Consumer Prices Rise 0.9 Pet., Prodded by Jump in Beef C
With beef prices again leading the way, the consumer price index jumped 0.9 percent in April, the biggest rise since February 1977 and the fourth substantial increase in as many months, the government reported yesterday.</br></br>Beef prices jumped a record 6.6 percent, accounting for more than a third of the 2.4 percent rise in grocery prices. Fresh vegetables prices soared 9.7 percent, the Labor Department said.	åÈ</br></br>Administration officials had anticipated a sizable increase in the index, but Robert S. Strauss, President CarterÛªs top inflation fighter, said nonetheless that the report ÛÏunderscores the need to attack inflation across a very, very broad front.ÛªÛª</br></br>Consumer prices over the past three months have risen at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10 percent, and the April increase, if compounded for a full year, would work out to a rate of</br></br>Strauss told reporters the president plans to fight hard in Congress for a bill designed to hold down rising hospital costs and said the administration is considering a variety of options, including an increase in quotas, to help relieve pressure on beef prices.