Consumer Price Index Falls 0.1% in May

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

rices paid by consumers fell 0.1% in May, and the so-called “core” consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, also fell 0.1%, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

The increase followed a 0.5% CPI gain in April and a 0.4% rise in the core rate.

Analysts had predicted no change in the CPI and a 0.2% rise in the core rate, Bloomberg reported.

The CPI is the government's broadest gauge of costs for goods and services. Almost 60% of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services. If consumer prices are falling, it could reflect a decrease in demand for consumer goods, which decreases the demand for trucking services.

Core prices were 2.2% higher than last year, Labor said.

Consumer prices are rising at an annual 3.7% rate this year, compared with 5% at this time last year, Bloomberg reported. Core prices are rising at 2.4%, down from the 2.5% in the first five months of 2004.

nergy prices fell 2% in May after rising 4.5% in April, when fuel hit record highs. Gasoline prices fell 4.4% in May.

Food prices, which account for about one-fifth of the index, rose 0.1% after rising 0.7% in April.

The cost of all goods, including automobiles, clothing and food, fell 0.4% in May, following a 0.9% increase in April.