The latest consumer price index report showed inflation hit a 3-year high in May. But there are also signs in it that inflation is still contained.Core inflation — which excludes the prices of food and energy, two categories that can swing up and down wildly — actually slowed down between April and May.To be clear, any kind of inflation is discouraging. But Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors, said there is a glass half-full viewpoint: “There are some things in the CPI data that should give us at least, for the moment, some comfort.”For one, Sahm said we’re starting to see signs that all of the inflation caused by tariffs is cooling off. For instance, furniture prices fell in May.Some tariff-sensitive categories got more expensive, including apparel. But Sahm said those are one-time price increases, and they’re working their way through the supply chain.“If it continues to process, these latest goods like apparel, if they continue to look like the furniture goods, well that inflation is going to subside in the coming months,” she said.Inflation in rent and vehicles is starting to cool, too.Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, said new vehicle prices have only risen 0.2% over the past year. “That’s basically flat. You haven’t seen any real increase in motor vehicle prices,” she said.As a result, Bostjancic said it’s possible that inflation has peaked. Epecially since gas prices have eased a bit, too. “They’ve fallen about a quarter to 30 cents per gallon. And we think that trend continues,” she said.Energy prices are still a lot higher than they were before the war started. But many businesses are eating those costs, said Bill Adams, chief U.S. economist at Fifth Third Commercial Bank.“Often when there’s an economic shock, a price shock, and it looks like it might be short-lived, businesses wait to decide how much of that price increase to pass on to consumers,” he said.Inflation right now is nowhere near as broad-based as price increases after the pandemic, said Sahm.“It’s a more concentrated set of prices that have really taken off that’s pulling up inflation,” she said.Still, none of this negates the more pessimistic view. Price levels are still higher than they were.“There’s no reason to panic with these data, but there’s still quite a bit of pain that’s working its way through with this,” Sahm said.That pain will continue the longer the war drags on.Too optimistic? Read our glass half-empty take on the CPI: Inflation spikes as Iran war stokes energy costs, according to May CPI