U.S. consumer prices recorded their largest increase in more than a year in May as costs for a range of goods and services rose, likely easing the Federal Reserve’s concerns that inflation was running too low. The Labor Department said on Tuesday its Consumer Price Index increased 0.4 percent last month, with food prices posting their biggest rise since August 2011. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise only 0.2 percent,
In the 12 months through May, consumer prices increased 2.1 percent, the biggest gain since October 2012. That followed a 2.0 percent rise in the period through April, marking the first back-to-back months in which the year-on-year CPI had risen at least 2 percent since early 2012.
Food prices increased 0.5 percent in May, the fifth consecutive monthly increase. There were also increases in prices for gasoline and electricity. Within the core CPI, the cost of rents, medical care, apparel and new cars all rose, and airline fares recorded their largest gain since July 1999.
