May's release of the consumer price index (CPI) continued to suggest that inflation is beginning to firm. Both headline and core measures were higher than analysts projected. Headline inflation year over year is running at 2.1 percent, its highest level in 19 months. Energy and food were particularly strong, with the food index posting its largest increase in almost three years. The core measure, which excludes food and energy, also rose, hitting a 15-month high at 2.0 percent year over year in May.
