US consumer prices rose at a seasonally- adjusted 0.6 per cent in May, up from 0.2 per cent in the previous month, the US Labour Department said Friday, according to dpa. The higher inflation rate was largely thanks to surging petrol prices across the United States. The department's energy index jumped 4.4 per cent in May, while core prices - which exclude volatile food and energy - rose only 0.2 per cent. Consumer prices were up 4.2 per cent from May 2007, the department said. The Federal Reserve has hinted it may halt a string of drastic interest rate cuts carried out since September in an effort to balance the risks of a sluggish US economy and higher commodity prices.
