Consumer inflation rose 0.1% in May per the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with this headline reading coming in just below estimates. On an annual basis, CPI fell sharply from 4.9% in April to 4% last month, reaching its lowest level since April 2021. Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, increased 0.4% while the annual reading declined from 5.5% to 5.3%.

Stubbornly high costs for shelter and used cars were key contributors to inflation last month, with shelter in particular accounting for over 60% of the total increase in Core CPI per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

However, shelter costs have been falling in more real-time data. For example, Apartment List’s latest Rent Report showed that year-over-year rent growth decelerated to just 0.9% in May, the lowest level since March 2021. These declines are not fully reflected in the CPI report yet but should add more downside pressure to inflation once they are.