The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge bounced higher in April, underscoring Fed Chair Jerome Powell's warning that reining in price hikes "is likely to be bumpy," but also increasing the odds for further rate hikes.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 4.4% for the 12 months ended in April, up from the 4.2% increase seen in March, according to data released Friday by the Commerce Department.

On a monthly basis, prices ticked up by 0.4%. In March, the headline PCE index showed a 0.1% gain.

This story is developing and will be updated.