The Labor
Department announced on Wednesday the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) was
unchanged m-o-m in May, following
an unrevised 0.3 per cent m-o-m advance in the previous month. This marked the indicator’s weakest monthly performance since July 2022
(flat m-o-m).
Over the last
12 months, the CPI jumped by 3.3 per cent y-o-y, slightly decelerating from an
unrevised climb of 3.4 per cent y-o-y reported for the period ending in April. This represented the weakest 12-month increase in three
months.
Economists had expected
the U.S. CPI to increase 0.1 per cent m-o-m and 3.4 per cent y-o-y.
According to
the report, the index for shelter went up 0.4 per cent m-o-m, more than
offsetting a 3.6 per cent m-o-m decline in gasoline. Meanwhile, the index for
food edged up 0.1 per cent m-o-m.
The core CPI,
excluding volatile food and fuel costs, rose 0.2 per cent m-o-m in May after an unrevised 0.3 per cent m-o-m gain in the previous month. This
was the weakest monthly increase in core CPI since October 2023 (+0.2 per cent
m-o-m).
In the 12
months through May, the core CPI climbed by 3.4 per cent, following an unrevised 3.6 per cent jump for the 12 months ending April. This marked the weakest 12-month
surge since April 2021 (+3.0 per cent).
Economists
had predicted the core CPI to advance by 0.3 per cent m-o-m and 3.5 per cent
y-o-y in May.