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Jun. 15th, 2007 10:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
novapsycheConsumer Prices Shoot Up at Fastest Pace in 20 Months
Consumer prices shot up at the fastest pace in 20 months in May, fueled by a surge in gas prices, although inflation pressures were moderate in most other areas.
The Labor Department reported that its closely watched Consumer Price Index registered a 0.7 percent increase last month, the biggest advance since Hurricane Katrina shut down Gulf Coast oil production in the fall of 2005.
[...] For May, energy prices rose by 5.4 percent, driven higher by a 10.5 percent jump in gasoline pump prices. The surge in gasoline costs appears to be moderating with the nationwide average falling by 7 cents in the past three weeks to $3.11 per gallon, according to the Lundberg Survey. That was still 95 cents higher than at the start of the year.
Food costs were up 0.3 percent in May as vegetable prices fell while beef, poultry and fresh fruit prices were up.