The Labor Department released its highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation in the month of May on Tuesday, showing prices edged slightly higher.
The report said the consumer price index inched up by 0.1 percent in May after climbing by 0.4 percent in April. Economists had expected prices to tick up by 0.2 percent.
Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices rose by 0.4 percent in May, matching the increase seen in each of the two previous months as well as economist estimates.
The Labor Department also said the annual rate of consumer price growth slowed to 4.0 percent in May from 4.9 percent in April. Economists had expected the pace of growth to slow to 4.1.
The year-over-year growth in May marked the smallest annual increase since the period ending March 2021.
The annual rate of core consumer price growth also slowed to 5.3 percent in May from 5.5 percent in April, in line with expectations.
