Overview

America is fretting about the return of stagflation, as consumer-price inflation jumped even as the economy continued to flag. Consumer prices rose by 0.5% in May, faster than expected. This pushed up inflation to 3.6%, from 3.3% in the year to April; excluding food and energy, the rate was 2.5%. Meanwhile, industrial output fell in May for the eighth successive month, dropping to a level 2.8% lower than a year earlier.