Consumer prices rose 0.2% in May largely because of higher gasoline prices and rising rents, according to a government index that tracks the cost of living.
Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 0.3% increase.
Although the cost of most goods and services aren’t increasing much, fuel has become more expensive because of a rebound in oil prices. The energy index climbed 1.2% in May, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Rents also jumped 0.4% in May to mark the largest monthly gain since February 2007. And they are rising at the fastest 12-month pace in almost nine years: 3.4%.
Overall price pressures are still muted, however. The consumer price index has risen just 1% in the past 12 months. The core rate that excludes food and energy has risen at a sharper but still low 2.2% annual pace.
Real or inflation-adjusted hourly wages, meanwhile, were unchanged in May. They have risen 1.4% in the past 12 months.
