‘Great Numbers!’: Report Shows No Significant Tariff-Related Price Jumps For 3rd Straight Month

The latest data from the Consumer Price Index released on Wednesday showed — for the third straight month — that President Donald Trump’s tariffs have had little effect on Americans’ wallets, defying economists’ expectations.

The CPI rose 2.4% in May compared to last year, which was a slight increase from the 2.3% reported in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite the continued solid numbers, economists and top Fed officials still predict price increases from Trump’s tariffs to hit over the summer, MarketWatch reported. The Wednesday CPI report was celebrated by Trump, who urged the Fed to lower the interest rates by “ONE FULL POINT.”

“CPI JUST OUT. GREAT NUMBERS! FED SHOULD LOWER ONE FULL POINT,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “WOULD PAY MUCH LESS INTEREST ON DEBT COMING DUE. SO IMPORTANT!!!”

While the index for food increased slightly in May after falling in April, energy and gas indexes decreased by 1% and 2.6% from last month, respectively. Prices also dropped for used cars, plane tickets, and clothing, which is mainly imported from foreign countries and subject to Trump’s stiff duties, MarketWatch reported.

“Core inflation,” which takes out food and energy prices and is used as a more stable indicator of the future economy, increased by 0.1% from last month, which was below economists’ predictions. Year-over-year “core inflation” remained steady at 2.8%. Wells Fargo senior economist Michael Pugliese told CNN the report was a “good reading” on inflation but added that he believes “it’s too early to draw any conclusions from whether the tariffs are having ‘X’ effect or ‘Y’ effect.”

Some economists argue that Americans haven’t been hit by price increases yet because businesses loaded up their inventories before Trump’s tariffs went into effect and have been able to hold off on hiking prices, The New York Times reported.

The CPI report was released as President Trump announced that a trade deal had been reached with China and that it awaits “final approval” from him and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as The Daily Wire reported. The deal includes an agreement on rare earth minerals, tariffs, and allowing Chinese students to study at American universities. A trade deal with China would mark the most significant step taken by the Trump administration on the economy since the president imposed massive tariffs on nearly every country in the world.

Under the agreement, however, the United States would still impose a 55% tariff on Chinese products while American goods would still be hit with a 10% tariff from China, according to Trump.