On the 30th of last month, a gasoline price of more than $8 per gallon was posted at a Chevron gas station in downtown Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles = Archyde.com
The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 8.6% in May compared to the same month last year. Since December 1981, the record of the largest increase in 41 years has been restored, raising concerns about the worsening of the inflation situation.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced on the 10th (local time) that the CPI rose 8.6% in May compared to May of last year. Not only did the increase increase compared to last month (8.3%), but it also broke the record of 8.5% in March (8.5%), which was the highest increase in 41 years. On a monthly basis, it exceeded 6% for eight consecutive months. Core CPI, excluding volatile energy and food, also rose 6.0% from the same month last year.
Energy prices rose 34.6% from the same month last year and 4.5% from the previous month. This appears to be due to the surge in gasoline prices due to the rise in international oil prices. U.S. gasoline prices are up 48.7% from the same month last year. Food prices also rose 10.1%, the first double-digit increase since 1981. Housing prices, including monthly rent, rose 5.5%.
In particular, the figure announced today exceeded the forecast of experts (8.3%) compiled by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). “The surge in inflation means that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates more aggressively next week,” CNN reported.
The US and global financial markets predicted that the US inflation rate would peak in March and then turn downward, but the sharp rise in CPI in May made it inevitable for interest rate hikes to expand for the time being. The Fed’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) to be held on the 15th also predicted the third big step (0.5 percentage point increase in the US benchmark interest rate).
Washington = Jeong Sang-won correspondent ornot@hankookilbo.com