US Consumer Prices Flat in May, Defying Expectations for Slight Rise

INFLATION - WASHINGTON. U.S. consumer prices were unexpectedly unchanged in May amid cheaper gasoline, but inflation likely remains too high for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates before September against the backdrop of a persistently strong labor market.

The unchanged reading in the consumer price index reported by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday followed a 0.3% increase in April.