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The CPI Index for May 2026

The seasonally adjusted consumer price index was 333.979. Over the twelve months from the index a year earlier, that is a change of 4.2 percent.

By Arthur Lin, Economics Columnist

Washington1 min read

Storm clouds gather over a dense cityscape
Storm clouds gather over a dense cityscapePhoto by Nikolai Kolosov on Unsplash

The consumer price index, seasonally adjusted, stood at 333.979 in May 2026, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published by the St. Louis Fed. The index a year earlier, May 2025, was 320.620. The percent change between those two published levels is 4.2 percent.

A price level and a rate of change are different objects. The index can be high relative to a household's memory of 2019 and still be the input to a modest twelve-month change, or the reverse.

The Federal Reserve's 2 percent goal is a statement about inflation over the longer run, usually discussed with the personal consumption expenditures index rather than the CPI.

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