The US core CPI rate has cooled for the first time in six months, providing relief to the Federal Reserve

On May 15, the monthly rate of core CPI in the United States cooled for the first time in six months, indicating that price pressures are gradually weakening and supporting the Federal Reserve's intention to keep interest rates higher for longer. Economists believe that the core measure is a better indicator of underlying inflation than the headline CPI. The headline CPI rose 0.3 percent from the previous month and 3.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Housing and gasoline spending accounted for more than 70 percent of that increase, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its report. While the data may give the Fed some hope that inflation is returning to a downward trend, officials want to see more data to gain the confidence they need to start considering rate cuts. Federal Reserve Chairperson Jerome Powell said yesterday that the central bank would "need to be patient and allow restrictive policies to work", with some policymakers expecting no rate cuts at all this year.