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Consumer price index (CPI) in the United States rose 0.6% in May, bringing the year-over-year inflation rate to 5%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today.
May’s year-over-year figure is up from April’s 4.2% and is the highest recorded in the U.S. since August 2008.
May’s monthly increase, however, is lower than that recorded in April, when prices rose 0.8%.
The increase in prices was largely driven by increases in used cars (7.3%) and airline tickets (7%).
Excluding food and fuel prices, the most volatile, core inflation last month was 0.7%, and 3.8% over the last 12 months.
The May price rebound comes a week ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy meeting.
The central bank has rejected inflationary pressures in the country due to the extraordinary fiscal stimulus deployed, uncontrolled monetary issuance, and rising demand as restrictions are lifted by the improvement of the pandemic in the country.
Its president, Jerome Powell, has acknowledged that there will be notable price rises, but that according to him they will be of a “transitory” nature, for which reason he has insisted that he does not expect to modify the central bank’s interest rates, currently between 0 % and 0.25 % for the remainder of the year.
