U.S. Consumer Prices Increase 0.5% In May, In Line With Estimates

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday showed consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of May.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.5 percent in May after climbing by 0.6 percent in April. The price growth matched expectations.

The annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 4.2 percent in May from 3.8 percent in April, which was also in line with estimates.

The monthly increase in consumer prices partly reflected a continued surge in energy prices, which shot up by 3.9 percent in May after spiking by 3.8 percent in April.

Excluding prices for food and energy, the core consumer price index crept up by 0.2 percent in May after rising by 0.4 percent in April. Economists had expected core prices to increase by 0.3 percent.

The annual rate of core consumer price growth inched up to 2.9 percent in May from 2.8 percent in April, which matched expectations.

The Labor Department said the monthly uptick in core consumer prices reflected higher prices for shelter, communication, airline fares, medical care, personal care, and recreation.

Conversely, prices for motor vehicle insurance, household furnishings and operations, and new vehicles were among those that decreased, the report said.

"Now that the Iran crisis has extended into June, we have begun to see broader impacts across several categories of consumer prices," said Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial.

He added, "If the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted through the Labor Day weekend, we would expect the energy shock to affect additional sectors and heighten uncertainty about the future path of monetary policy."

On Thursday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release a separate report on producer price inflation in the month of May.

Producer prices are expected to increase by 0.7 percent in May after jumping by 1.4 percent in April, while the annual rate of producer price growth is expected to accelerate to 6.4 percent in May from 6.0 percent in April.