Inflation in the USA is clearly losing momentum. Consumer prices rose in May only by 4.0 percent, as announced by the Department of Labor in Washington. In April it was 4.9 percent. Experts expect the US Federal Reserve to take a break after a series of interest rate hikes in the fight against high inflation. After ten monetary policy tightening steps in a row, it is likely to record the decline in the inflation rate as a stage victory. But their stability goal of an inflation rate of two percent has not yet been achieved.
The central bank leaders are likely to be worried about the continued high core rate of inflation, which does not include the volatile prices for energy and food. As expected by economists, this rate fell only slightly from 5.5 to 5.3 percent.
The core rate is considered a good indicator of fundamental inflation trends and is therefore closely analyzed by monetary authorities. They are considering maintaining the current interest rate range of 5.00 to 5.25 percent. However, a pause in rate hikes should not be interpreted as a signal that the interest rate peak has already been reached, stressed Fed Director Philip Jefferson recently. This means that the era of interest rate hikes may not be over yet, despite the slowdown in inflation, and an upward step may follow in July.