WASHINGTON - Consumer prices rose 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported Wednesday, after a 0.4% increase in April. May's increase is the smallest rise since a 0.1% uptick in November 2010.
Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.3% in May, after a 0.2% gain in April. May's increase in core prices was the largest since a 0.3% increase in July 2008.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had a median estimate of a 0.1% rise for prices overall and a 0.2% increase estimated for the core.
Energy prices fell 1.0%, with gasoline tumbling 2.0%. Food prices in May were up 0.4% after a revised 0.4% increase in April.
Housing costs, defined as owner’s equivalent rent, were up 0.1% for their eighth straight gain. Housing costs account for 40% of the core index. New car prices also contributed to the core increase.
Year-over-year the CPI was up 3.6% and the core rate grew 1.5%.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.1% in May, seasonally adjusted.
