After plunging in April, economists expected the deflationary impulse in consumer prices to stabilize in May and it did with headline and core CPI both falling just 0.1% MoM (exp was 0.0%).
This sent headline CPI growth lower (to just +0.1% YoY) and core CPI grew at +1.2% YoY
Source: Bloomberg
Lots of deflationary prints in the Energy and Autos sector but food surged...
The food at home index increased 4.8 percent over the last 12 months, with all six major grocery store food group indexes rising over that span.
The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 10.0 percent over the last year, its largest 12-month increase since the period ending May 2004.
This reflects a sharp increase in the beef index, which rose 18.2 percent over the span. The index for dairy and related products increased 5.7 percent, and the index for nonalcoholic beverages rose 4.1 percent over the year. The remaining groups posted smaller increases. The index for food away from home rose 2.9 percent over the last year. The index for limited service meals increased 3.6 percent and the index for full service meals rose 2.4 percent over the last 12 months.
Of coursem, this somewhat disinflationary print provides further greenlighting for The Fed to stay the course (or ease even more).
