CPI report: US inflation is coming back down to Earth
CNNMinneapolis CNN — US inflation is leaving those sky-high days behind: Consumer prices in May rose at the slowest annual pace since March 2021, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “They’ve raised rates for 10 consecutive meetings in a row and the increase is the most and fastest pace in decades, so they want to wait and see if their actions are sufficient to keep inflation moving in the right direction.” Tuesday’s CPI report comes as Fed officials sit down for the first day of their monetary policymaking meeting and is one of the last major pieces of economic data to digest before they announce their rate decision on Wednesday. And once the turn happens, I think that those housing costs will move lower pretty quickly and that should help bring down core CPI.” More work — and more risks — ahead Tuesday’s CPI report did provide a hint of progress on an index that has held particular interest for the Fed: The services excluding housing category declined by 0.2% on a monthly basis and fell to 4.2% on an annual level. “Food Away from Home price inflation posted a 5.8% annualized growth pace for the month; Leisure & Hospitality employment gains have slowed this year and overall employment in this collection of industries remains well below pre-pandemic levels,” Kurt Rankin, senior economist for PNC Financial Services, wrote in a note.