Image courtesy Yahoo FinanceConsumer prices rose at the slowest pace since April 2021 as inflation showed further signs of cooling in May, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday morning.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) revealed headline inflation rose 0.1% over last month and 4% over the prior year in May, a slowdown from April’s 0.4% month-over-month increase and 4.9% annual gain.
Both measures were roughly in line with economist forecasts of a 0.1% month-over-month increase and a 4.1% annual increase, according to data from Bloomberg.
Although the 4% jump in headline inflation represents a continued slowdown, it’s still significantly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
The Fed has been raising interest rates to try to bring down inflation, but the central bank risks sending the economy into a recession by hiking rates too high too fast. The Fed has signaled it could pause its hikes, saying it would continue to assess incoming data ahead of the June meeting.
On a “core” basis, which strips out the more volatile costs of food and gas, prices in May climbed 0.4% over the prior month and 5.3% over last year. Both measures were also in line with economist expectations.
Click here to read the full report from Alexandra Canal at Yahoo Finance.
