At 8.6 Per Cent, US Inflation Soars To 40-Year High In May

Inflation in the United States hit a fresh 40-year high in May in a broad advance, raising prospects that the Federal Reserve will keep hiking interest rates aggressively for longer.

The consumer price index increased 8.6 per cent from a year earlier in a broad-based advance, according to the data released by US Labor Department on Friday (10 June), reports CNBC-TV18.

The increase was broad-based, with the indexes for shelter, gasoline, and food being the largest contributors, the department said in a statement.

After declining in April, the energy index rose 3.9 percent over the month with the gasoline index rising 4.1 percent and the other major component indexes also increasing. The food index rose 1.2 percent in May as the food at home index increased 1.4 percent, the statement said.

"The all items index increased 8.6 percent for the 12 months ending May, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending December 1981," the statement added.

The rising inflation increases the possibility that the US Federal Reserve, which is already trying to cool the economy by raising borrowing costs, will have to take more aggressive measures to contain rising prices.

The US central bank is expected to raise rates half a percentage point at its meeting next week and again in July, reports New York Times.