US Consumer Prices increase by 0.6% in May. UMichigan survey falls. | CountingPips Forex & Currency Trading Blog

June 13, 2008 - Forex Economic News

US Consumer Prices increase by 0.6% in May. UMichigan survey falls.

Consumer Prices in the U.S. rose the fastest in six months in May according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Consumer Price Index, a key measurement of inflation, increased by 0.6 percent in May following up an increase of 0.2 percent in April. May's CPI annual rate increased to 4.2 percent up from 3.9 percent in April. The cpi data surpassed economic forecasts which had predicted a monthly increase of 0.5 percent and an annual rate of 3.9 percent. Core cpi, excluding food and energy prices, increased 0.2 percent in May after a 0.1 increase in April and registered an annual rate of 2.3 percent which equaled April's annual rate. Contributing to a higher cpi in May was increases in energy as the energy index increased by 4.4 percent and the index for petroleum-based energy increased by 5.8 percent for the month.

UMichigan/Reuters Consumer Sentiment Survey continues a downward trend.

The consumer sentiment survey by the University of Michigan and Reuters fell to its lowest point since 1980 in June and continues on its downward trend. The consumer sentiment survey fell to a 56.7 score in June from a score of 59.8 in May in the report released today amid sky high gas prices and inflation concerns. The current conditions index of the survey fell from 73.3 in May to 68.7 in June. The expectations index, which measures economic sentiment six months into the future, fell from a 51.1 score in May to a 49 score in June. The low consumer confidence score was below market forecasts which had expected a score of 59.5 for the month. The preliminary report of the survey, released near the beginning of the month, does not include the full total of survey responses and is released in a finalized version later in the month.

Tags: inflation, consumer prices, umichigan, reuters, sentiment, confidence, economy

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