Little Sign of Inflation in Consumer Prices

Washington, DC, June 17, 2012–Consumer prices fell in May for the second straight month as gasoline prices declined, the Labor Department said.

The consumer price index fell a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in May after a 0.1% decline in April, the government said. Energy prices fell 2.9%, food prices were flat and shelter prices rose 0.1%.

The core CPI rose 0.1%, just the second monthly increase this year.

The report matched economists’ expectations.

In the past year, the CPI is up 2%, while the core CPI is up 0.9%, matching April for the lowest year-on-year increase in 44 years.

Energy prices were the big story in May, falling 2.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis. Gasoline prices fell 5.2%, seasonally adjusted. In the past year, energy prices are up 15%.

Excluding energy, consumer prices rose 0.1% in May. Most major categories of consumer spending showed flat or slightly rising prices.

Shelter prices, which account for nearly a third of the CPI’s market basket, rose 0.1% in May. Rents were flat, as was ownership equivalent rent. Lodging away from home jumped 2.5%.