"The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) 12-month rate was... up from 1.9 percent in March," the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.
"Rising energy prices and air fares, which were influenced by the timing of Easter, produced the largest upward contributions to change in the rate between March and April 2019," the ONS added.
Analysts' consensus forecast had been for a jump to 2.2 percent in April.
While April's figure is back above the Bank of England's 2.0-percent target, the latest data is not expected to cause the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee to raise interest rates any time soon, especially since inflation rose less than forecast.
The climb "still puts further pressure on consumer purchasing power following a falling back in earning growth in March", noted Howard Archer, chief economic advisor at the EY ITEM Club.
However, "it is unlikely to prompt the Monetary Policy Committee into hiking interest rates in the near term given ongoing Brexit uncertainties and a fraught domestic political environment," Archer added.
"The recent relapse in consumer purchasing power is a blow to growth hopes as the UK economy faces being hampered by prolonged Brexit uncertainties as well as a fraught domestic political situation and a challenging global economic environment."
The Bank of England's main interest rate stands at 0.75 percent.