The latest economic report from the U.S. Labor Department did not contain good news.
According to reports from multiple media outlets, statistics showed that U.S. consumer prices rose last month, leaving consumer sentiment near record lows.
The department’s Consumer Price Index – which tracks inflation — showed prices rose 0.5% from April to May. Over the year, they are up 4.2%. USA Today reported that rise is about what forecasters expected and represents the steepest increase in three years.
Core CPI, which excludes more volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.2% over the month after a 0.4% rise in April. It is up 2.9% over the year.
According to the report, inflation has surged since the start of the Iran war. Before the conflict began, the annual U.S. inflation rate held steady at 2.4% in February. It jumped to 3.3% in March and rose again to 3.8% in April, driven by supply chain disruptions and soaring fuel prices that increased the cost of producing other goods.
“This wasn’t a bad report as we head into the new Fed Chair’s first meeting,” Thrivent Chief Financial and Investment Officer David Royal told USA Today in a note. “Nothing in today’s data will likely change the Fed’s outlook, but some moderation in core inflation for May will be welcome to new Chair Kevin Warsh.”
