Inflation rose four-tenths of a percentage point to 4.2% for the year ending in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in an update to the consumer price index Wednesday, as high energy prices from the Iran war pushed up the headline number.The inflation reading for May was the highest since April 2023.
In just the month of May, prices rose 0.5%.
Rising inflation is a major political problem for President Donald Trump, who won office in large part because high inflation doomed his predecessor, President Joe Biden. High prices have dragged down consumer sentiment to record lows and pushed Trump’s approval ratings deeply underwater, darkening the prospects for the Republican Party in the midterm elections.
The recent increase has been driven in large part by spiking energy prices, which have soared as the conflict with Iran disrupted the global oil supply.
Notably, core inflation, a measure that strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose one-tenth of a percentage point to 2.9% for the year ending in May.
