The core finished goods index has increased at just a 0.2 percent annual rate so far this year. May. Both indexes stand more than a full percentage point below their year ago levels. The crude goods indexes showed large increases in all categories in May, but these were just reversals of earlier price declines. The overall crude goods index is still 4.4 percent below its year ago level. The data in these reports clearly show that the concerns about inflation, raised by the jump in the CPI in April, were unwarranted.
Monthly data is always erratic.
The April jump was driven by several erratic factors, not any change in the underlying trend. Inflation remains in the range of 2.0 - 2.5 percent, with no evidence of any upward movement. The May CPI report should stem the drive to have the Fed raise interest rates.