The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 8.6 percent in May compared to last year, the highest level since 1981.
That level outpaces March’s rate of 8.5 percent and outpaces April’s rate of 8.3 percent.
According to the CPI, which is a measure of the prices consumers are paying for finished goods, fuel oil rose at 106.7 percent year over year, gasoline was up 48.7 percent, airline fares were up 37.8 percent, eggs were up 32.2 percent, utility gas service was 30.2 percent, hotel rooms up 22.2 percent, and butter was 20.2 percent up from a year ago.
Chicken rose 17.4 percent, about in line with milk, oranges, tires, and stationary.
The core price index, which is the CPI excluding often-volatile categories like food and energy, still increased six percent in May compared to a year earlier. That’s the sharpest increase in the CPI minus food and energy since 1982.
Meanwhile, the Producer Price Index (PPI), which reflects what suppliers are charging businesses and other customers and is generally considered the core metric of input price changes, is up 11 percent in April compared to last year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release May PPI data on June 14.
