NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - A closely watched inflation reading showed a slight uptick in price pressures in April, a government report said Friday.

The Commerce Department's report on personal income and spending showed that the prices paid by consumers on items other than food and energy, known as the core PCE deflator, was up 2.1 percent over the 12-month period ending in April. That's up from a 2 percent rise in that measure in the March report.

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The reading is one of those watched by the Federal Reserve for early signs of inflationary pressures. It got particular attention by economists and investors Friday as the Fed has signaled it would make a decision on future interest rate hikes based upon economic data before its next meeting June 28 and 29.

The report also showed a 0.5 percent increase in personal income in April compared to March, a touch lower than the 0.7 percent rise forecast by economists surveyed by Briefing.com. It also showed a 0.6 percent rise in spending by consumers, which was in line with forecasts.

Stock futures moved higher on the report, even with the slight increase in the core PCE deflator. Phillip Neuhart, economist with Wachovia, said economists had been forecasting the deflator to come in at 2.1 percent, but there had been fears among investors that the number could top forecasts. He said the report should increase the chance that the Fed will pause in its course of rate hikes in June.

"It's good news for the Fed, since Chairman (Ben) Bernanke seems to be looking for a reason to pause," he said. "It is an uptick, but there were whisper numbers of a 3/10 uptick, and a 1/10th uptick is nothing to get excited about. It shows inflation is contained."

Neuhart said that the income coming in below economists' forecasts is also good news for those hoping for a Fed pause in June.

"If that had risen well above expectation, it would have shown inflationary wage pressure," he said.

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