The U.S. annual inflation rate surged to 8.6 percent in May, topping the market estimate of 8.3 percent.
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the consumer price index (CPI) rose 1 percent on a month-over-month basis.
The core inflation rate, which excludes the volatile food and energy sectors, climbed 6 percent year-over-year, higher than economists’ expectations of 5.9 percent. Core inflation jumped 0.6 percent month-over-month.
All of the inflation indexes ran high in May, with food prices soaring 10.1 percent and energy increasing 34.6 percent.
Fuel oil surged 106.7 percent, gasoline rose 48.7 percent, and electricity costs jumped 12 percent year-over-year.
In May, meat prices remained expensive as beef (+10.2 percent), pork (+13.3 percent), ham (+11.1 percent), and chicken (+17.4 percent) have all surged….