Key inflation indicator records biggest jump on record

By Anneken Tappe, CNN Business

Another key inflation indicator flashed a warning sign in May: Producer prices jumped a record amount last month.

The economy is reopening fully and soaring demand, together with supply chain issues and materials shortages, is pushing prices higher. That trend, which has been taking place all year, continued in May.

Between May 2020 and May 2021, prices increased 6.6% — the biggest jump recorded since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started collecting this data in November 2010.

Stripping out more volatile prices for food, energy and trade services, prices rose 5.3% in the 12 months ended May. That was also the biggest jump on record, though that data series started in August 2014.

For May alone, prices rose 0.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis, a slightly faster pace than in April.

The producer price index is another inflation measure, which looks at the average change in prices that America’s producers receive for their goods and services. More than half of the May increase was down to price increases in goods.

Prices for nonferrous metals, such as aluminum, logged the biggest price hike for goods, while margins of car retailers contributed the biggest jump for services.

The United States isn’t the only nation with this problem: Last week, China reported the highest level of producer price inflation in nearly 13 years.

This is a developing story. It will be updated