WASHINGTON, United States — U.S. consumer inflation rose slightly in May, consistent with analysts' forecasts, according to official data released Wednesday as President Donald Trump’s extensive tariff measures started to impact the world's largest economy.
The consumer price index (CPI) was recorded at 2.4 percent compared to the previous year, following a 2.3% readership in April , the Department of Labor mentioned that the main statistics were affected by the drop in energy prices.
Everyone was focused on US inflation figures following President Trump’s imposition of a flat 10 percent tariff on imports from nearly all trading partners at the beginning of April.
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He announced increased tariffs on numerous economies such as India and the European Union; however, these measures have been put on hold until early July. Meanwhile, Trump escalated trade tensions with China through reciprocal tariff actions.
However, experts stated that it could take several months for the tariffs to affect inflation rates, since companies hastened to amass products prior to President Trump’s new tariff measures taking effect, and these stocks are only just being depleted from current inventories.
From April to May, the CPI increased by 0.1 percent, slowing down compared to the previous month's rate.
As housing prices rose along with food costs, the report noted that energy prices slightly decreased during the period.
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