Inflation fell to its lightest level since April 2021 last month, according to the government’s core inflation metric released Wednesday morning, a welcome development for investors and prospective borrowers yearning for lower interest rates.Overall inflation was 3.3% in May, as measured by year-over-year changes in the Labor Department’s consumer price index, better than consensus economist estimates of 3.4%, according to FactSet.
Core inflation, which many experts consider the more important measure as it excludes the oft volatile food and energy subsets, was 3.4% last month, lighter than forecasts of 3.5%. Both headline inflation, which was 4% last May and 8.6% in May 2022, and core inflation, which was 5.3% last year and 6% two years ago, continue to trend in the right direction, but remain above their historically acceptable boundaries.
The bond and stock markets, which both have long looked for lower inflation to justify lower interest rates, celebrated the inflation release, with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures popping more than 200 points and 10-year U.S. government bond yields falling more than 10 basis points .We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines.