(Reuters) – Prices in the United States stabilized in May on a month-on-month basis and showed a deceleration on an annual basis, according to data released on Friday by the Commerce Department.
The PCE consumer price index was flat in May, after increasing 0.3% last month.
Over the year, the index slowed to 2.6%, in line with the forecasts of economists polled by Reuters, after an increase of 2.7% in April.
The “core PCE” underlying inflation index, which excludes the volatile elements such as energy and food products, also slowed to +0.1% in May, in line with economists’ expectations. after an increase of 0.3% (revised) in April.
Over one year, the “core” index rose to +2.6%, in line with economists’ expectations, after +2.8% in April.
US household consumption spending rose 0.3% after a 0.1% decline in April, while household income rose 0.5% in May, slightly below consensus (+0. 4%) and after +0.3% in April.
After the publication of these statistics, on Wall Street, futures contracts on the main indices suggest an opening up 0.01% for the Dow Jones, 0.22% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 0.29 % for Nasdaq.
(Written by Mathias de Rozario, edited by Claude Chendjou)
