WASHINGTON – The consumer price index fell 0.1% in May, and the core rate rose 0.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.
The report was slightly under the expectations for a flat result and generally continued the deceleration evident so far this year.
The core rate was up 0.1%, in May also a tenth below expectations.
The CPI's annual change through May, the consumer inflation rate, was 1.9% compared with the previous month, when it was up 2.2%. The deceleration was even more evident year to date, with overall CPI running at an annualized rate of increase of only 1.0% compared with the 1.5% through April.
The core rate 12-month change through May was up 1.7% and this year alone, annualized through May, is up just 1.3% when at the same point last year it was running at a 2.4% pace.
"It was a pretty quiet month," BLS senior analyst Steve Reed told Market News International. So far this year, "If you take out the shelter category, there's not a lot of evidence for real upward price pressure."
Shelter, up 0.2% in May, is ahead 3.3% for 12 months, the dominant influence on the CPI. The rent index rose 0.3% and owner-equivalent rent rose 0.2%.
The surge in wireless charges proved to be short-lived, he noted, but auto insurance resumed its strong upward path, rising 0.4% in May.
Down for the month were clothing, airline fares, communication, and medical care services. Food prices rose just 0.2% and for 12 months are up 0.9%.
In the afternoon, the Federal Open Market Committee's policy statement is not expected to significantly alter its view of inflation. On May 3 it said that the rate "recently has been running close to the Committee's 2 percent longer-run objective" with the core "somewhat below 2 percent." It added market-based measures "remain low."
