Inflation slowed in April after seven months of relentless gains, a tentative sign that price increases may be peaking while still imposing a financial strain on American households.

Consumer prices jumped 8.3% last month from 12 months earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday. That was below the 8.5% year-over-year surge in March, which was the highest rate since 1981.

On a month-to-month basis, prices rose 0.3% from March to April, a still-elevated rate but the smallest increase in eight months. Consumer prices had spiked 1.2% from February to March, mostly because of a sudden jump in gas prices triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Nationally, the price of a gallon of regular gas has reached a record $4.40, according to AAA, though that figure isn't adjusted for inflation. The high price of oil is the main factor. A barrel of U.S. benchmark crude sold for around $100 a barrel Tuesday. Gas had fallen to about $4.10 a gallon in April, after reaching $4.32 in March.

Beyond the financial strain for households, inflation is posing a serious political problem for President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats in the midterm election season, with Republicans arguing that Biden's $1.9 trillion financial support package last March overheated the economy by flooding it with stimulus checks, enhanced unemployment aid and child tax credit payments.

Biden said in a statement that while the slowing inflation figure is "heartening," consumer prices are "unacceptably high."

"As I said yesterday, inflation is a challenge for families across the country and bringing it down is my top economic priority," Biden said in a statement Wednesday, referencing his Tuesday remarks where he outlined his plan to combat high prices.

The president said that the plan to combat inflation "starts with the Federal Reserve," thanking the Senate for confirming Lisa Cook to the Board of Governors on Tuesday and urging the body to approve his "remaining nominees without delay."

"While I will never interfere with the Fed’s independence, I believe we have built a strong economy and a strong labor market, and I agree with what Chairman Powell said last week that the number one threat to that strength – is inflation," Biden wrote. "I am confident the Fed will do its job with that in mind."

Biden talked about his inflation plan, which is focused on lowering costs while also addressing the federal deficit, which is on track for the largest reduction on record.

"Already this week, my Administration has announced new steps in partnership with the private sector to lower the price of high speed internet for tens of millions of Americans," Biden wrote. "And, the Congressional Budget Office reported that the federal budget deficit in the first seven months of this fiscal year fell by $1.5 trillion—putting us on track for the most deficit reduction in any year on record. The CBO also confirmed that the budget deficit so far this year is lower than it was during the same period in 2019, before the pandemic began."

Biden was set to travel Wednesday to Illinois to discuss his plan to reduce food costs nationwide and around the world and aid farmers.

"All of this is progress, but the fight against global supply chain issues related to the pandemic and Putin’s price hike will continue every day," he wrote, before slamming his critics' plan to address rising prices. "Congressional Republicans talk about inflation, but their only plan is to raise taxes on working families, taking even more money out of their pockets."

"If they are serious about inflation, they should send me the bipartisan innovation bill to bolster our supply chains and make more in America, along with legislation that cuts costs and the cuts the deficit, reducing families’ prescription drug and utility bills and restoring fairness to our tax code," he concluded. "We’ve made enormous progress in getting our economy back on track, and these measures would help us sustain this progress and bring prices down for families."