US Inflation Jumped To 8.6% In May
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US inflation accelerated further in May, with prices up 8.6% from a year ago. This is the fastest increase seen since December 1981 and exceeded the 8.3% Dow Jones estimate for the month.
On a monthly basis, headline consumer price index (CPI) was up 1% while core increased by 0.6%. Estimates had been 0.7% and 0.5% respectively.
Surging fuel prices, food prices, and housing costs all contributed to the record-high jump.
Energy prices broadly increased 3.9% from a month ago, bringing the annual gain up to 34.6%. Housing costs rose 0.6%, the fastest one-month gain since March 2004. Food costs, meanwhile, jumped another 1.2% in May, taking the year-over-year gain up to 10.1%.
“What we need to see is clear and convincing evidence that inflation pressures are abating and inflation is coming down — and if we don’t see that, then we’ll have to consider moving more aggressively,” Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell told the Wall Street Journal last month.
“If we do see that, then we can consider moving to a slower pace.”
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