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Excerpt from www.cbc.ca
U.S. inflation eased last month in a hopeful sign that an uptick in prices from earlier this year may have passed. The trend, if it holds, could move the Federal Reserve closer to cutting its benchmark interest rate from its 23-year peak.
Consumer prices excluding volatile food and energy costs — the closely watched “core” index — rose 0.2 per cent from April to May, the government said Wednesday.
That was down from 0.3 per cent the previous month and was the smallest increase since October. Measured from a year earlier, core prices rose 3.4 per cent, below last month’s 3.6 per cent increase.
Fed officials are scrutinizing each month’s inflation data to assess their progress in the fight against rising prices. Even as overall inflation moderates, necessities such as groceries, rent and health-care are much pricier than they were three years ago — a continuing source of public discontent and a political threat to President Joe Biden’s re-election bid.
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