by Calculated Risk on 6/14/2017 11:10:00 AM
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Key Measures Show Inflation mostly below 2% in May
The Cleveland Fed released the median CPI and the trimmed-mean CPI this morning:
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the median Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% (2.2% annualized rate) in May. The 16% trimmed-mean Consumer Price Index rose 0.1% (1.2% annualized rate) during the month. The median CPI and 16% trimmed-mean CPI are measures of core inflation calculated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland based on data released in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) monthly CPI report.Note: The Cleveland Fed released the median CPI details for May here. Motor fuel declined 55% in May annualized.
Earlier today, the BLS reported that the seasonally adjusted CPI for all urban consumers fell 0.1% (-1.5% annualized rate) in May. The CPI less food and energy rose 0.1% (0.8% annualized rate) on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Click on graph for larger image.
This graph shows the year-over-year change for these four key measures of inflation. On a year-over-year basis, the median CPI rose 2.3%, the trimmed-mean CPI rose 1.9%, and the CPI less food and energy rose 1.7%. Core PCE is for April and increased 1.5% year-over-year.
On a monthly basis, median CPI was at 2.2% annualized, trimmed-mean CPI was at 1.2% annualized, and core CPI was at 0.8% annualized.
Using these measures, inflation was soft again in May. Overall these measures are mostly below the Fed's 2% target (Median CPI is slightly above).