Core Goods CPI Highest Of All Time

Core goods % M/M looks like by far the biggest increase ever in the series going back to the late 1950s, at +2.0% (previous high was August 1974's +1.5%) - core services "just" +0.5% (but highest since Oct 1992). See chart below.

• Core goods now rising 4.4% Y/Y, decisively eclipsing services at +2.5%.
• The breakdown is interesting too: big contributors to services included airfares (+10.2% M/M) and lodging away from home (+7.7% M/M). But other areas were relatively tame: primary rents and owners' equivalent rent each +0.2% M/M. Were it not for these categories remaining subdued, we could have seen an even higher overall print.
• Used cars were +10.0% M/M (the biggest rise since the series began in 1953) and was responsible for 1/3 of the overall inflation rise. This closely-watched category has quickly caught up to some of the used car price surveys analysts pointed to for an April rise. This could effectively mean though that some of the price increase was "brought forward" from previous months.

Source: BLS, MNI