Consumer Prices

FILE - A employee works at a cash register in a grocery store in Schaumburg, Ill., Thursday, May 14, 2026.

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America In Focus: Inflation hits 3-year high, Wall Street rallies and Musk becomes a trillionaire

America In Focus: Inflation hits 3-year high, Wall Street rallies and Musk becomes a trillionaire

Rising gas prices pushed inflation to its highest level in three years, new data showed this week, a headache for the Federal Reserve and a potential political challenge for the Trump administration as midterm elections near.  The Labor Department says consumer prices rose 4.2% in May from a year earlier, up from 3.8% in April and the third straight monthly increase. Meanwhile, U.S. producer prices, inflation measured before it gets to consumers, climbed last month at the fastest pace since November 2022, fueled by a surge in energy prices after the start of the Iran war. That didn't slow down U.S. markets, which notched another winning week.