US consumer inflation significantly eases to 4% in May, lowest in 2 years

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Annual consumer inflation in the US came in at 4% in May, marking the lowest level in more than two years and significantly easing from 4.9% in April, according to official figures released on Tuesday.

The consumer price index (CPI), which measures changes in the prices of goods and services from a consumer's perspective, also came below the market estimate of 4.1%.

The figure was the smallest 12-month increase since the period ending March 2021, and marked a sharp decline from last June's 9.1% yearly gain – the largest since November 1981.

On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.1% in May from the previous month, also coming lower than the market expectation of 0.2%. The figure for April was unrevised at 0.4%.

"The food index increased 0.2 percent in May after being unchanged in the previous 2 months," the Labor Department said in a statement. "The energy index, in contrast, declined 3.6 percent in May as the major energy component indexes fell."

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, gained 0.4% in May from the previous month, coming in line with the market estimate, while the April reading was unrevised at 0.4%.

Annually, core CPI rose 5.3% in May, also in line with the market expectation, after it rose 5.5% in April year-on-year.

"The energy index decreased 11.7 percent for the 12 months ending May, and the food index increased 6.7 percent over the last year," said the statement.