Investing.com - Consumer price inflation in the U.S. rose less than expected in May, while prices excluding food and energy costs inched up modestly, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said that consumer prices increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% last month, below forecasts for a gain of 0.5% and following a rise of 0.1% in April.
Year-over-year, consumer prices were flat in May, in line with expectations and after falling 0.2% in April.
Consumer prices, excluding food and energy costs, increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in May, missing expectations for a 0.2% increase. Core consumer prices inched up 0.3% in April.
Core CPI increased at annualized rate of 1.7% in May, down from 1.8% in April.
Core prices are viewed by the Federal Reserve as a better gauge of longer-term inflationary pressure because they exclude the volatile food and energy categories. The central bank usually tries to aim for 2% core inflation or less.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1399 from around 1.1391 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5913 from 1.5909 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 122.62 from 122.77 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 93.89, compared to 94.00 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a modestly higher open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 0.35%, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.35%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,200.30 a troy ounce, compared to $1,201.40 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $60.92 a barrel from $60.91 earlier.