Inflation accelerated again in May, defying expectations that price hikes had peaked earlier this year. Prices faced by U.S. consumers rose 8.6 percent in May, defying expectations that inflation had peaked in March and indicating that the Federal Reserve’s task of bringing it back under control will be more challenging than officials anticipated.
Compared with April, prices rose one percent.
Inflation hit a four-decade high of 8.557 percent in March and moved down to 8.3 percent in April. Economists had expected inflation to tick down to 8.2 percent in May.
This is the twelfth straight month of inflation above 5 percent.
Excluding food and energy, prices were up six percent compared with a year ago, more than the 5.9 percent anticipated. On the month, prices rose 0.6 percent, matching last month’s gain and beating the expectation for a slowdown to 0.5 percent.
It’s been more than four decades since Americans saw prices rising this fast at the grocery store.
Bidenflation: Grocery Store Prices Up The Most Since 1979
American families got whacked by much higher prices at the grocery store in March, according to the latest released data.
The Consumer Price Index for food purchased for consumption at home rose 1.4 percent compared with the prior month. Compared with a year ago, grocery store prices are up 11.9 percent, the fastest pace of inflation since 1979.
Prices of cereals and bakery products jumped 11.6 percent. Prices of meats, poultry, fish, and eggs were up 14.6 percent. Dairy product prices were up 11.8 percent. Fruits and vegetable prices were up 8.6 percent.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis