Consumer Price Index Rises 0.2% in May

The consumer price index rose 0.2% in May, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

The gain in the government’s main inflation gauge topped the 0.1% increase predicted by economists, Bloomberg reported.

The core CPI rate excluding food and energy rose 0.3%, the largest such increase in almost three years. Economists had called for a 0.2% upturn.

Almost 60% of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services. If consumer prices are climbing, it could reflect an increase in demand for consumer goods, which increases the demand for trucking services.