It’s no surprise that, with the ongoing conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, energy prices have caused inflation to rise at the highest rate since 2023.
Here’s the news from CNBC:
Inflation accelerated in May as rising energy costs contributed to pain for consumers, though underlying pressures were less intense.
The consumer price index, a broad gauge of goods and services costs across the U.S. economy, rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.5% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 4.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Both numbers were in line with the Dow Jones consensus.
Inflation climbed above 4% for the first time in three years, though the increase met expectations amid concerns over how much the surge in energy prices would impact the economy. The level was the highest since April 2023 and above the 3.8% level from April.
However, stripping out volatile food and energy prices, the so-called core CPI accelerated 0.2% for the month and 2.9% from a year ago. While the annual rate was in line with the forecast, the monthly gain was below the 0.3% estimate and less than the 0.4% April increase.
Hopefully this conflict is about to end and things can get back to normal in the Strait of Hormuz.