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Last Update: 14-Jun-12 09:08 ET
CPI Contracts in May on Lower Energy Costs
Consumer prices fell 0.3% in May after being unchanged in April. The Briefing.com consensus expected the CPI to decline 0.2%. Like the PPI report, the contraction in consumer prices was the result of a decline in energy costs.
The energy index fell 4.3% in May as gasoline prices fell 6.4% and natural gas costs declined 4.1%. Food prices were flat in May after increasing 0.2% in April. Excluding food and energy, core CPI increased 0.2% for the third consecutive month. The consensus expected core CPI to increase 0.1%. Like April, there were no outliers that were the main driver of core inflation growth. The increase was the result of normal pricing trends.
