The annual pace of US inflation is set to have eased to its lowest level in more than two years, but lingering price pressures will probably compel the Federal Reserve to consider additional interest rate increases.
The consumer price index is forecast to have climbed 4.1 per cent in May from a year earlier, according to a consensus forecast compiled by Bloomberg. That would be far slower than the 4.9 per cent increase registered in April and mark the lowest level since March 2021. On a monthly basis, consumer prices are estimated to have risen just 0.1 per cent.
Once volatile items such as food and energy are stripped out, however, “core” CPI is expected to have risen another 0.4 per cent in May — matching April’s increase. That would translate to a 5.2 per cent annual rise in CPI.