US Inflation Picks Up to Three-Year High, Eroding Paychecks (2)

US inflation accelerated in May to the fastest pace in more than three years as the Iran war pushed up energy prices, outstripping Americans’ pay gains.

The consumer price index climbed 0.5% from April and 4.2% from a year earlier, the most since early 2023, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Wednesday. An underlying gauge of inflation that excludes food and energy, however, rose a less-than-expected 0.2% from the prior month.

More than half of the advance in the overall CPI was due to higher energy costs, though prices in some categories like transportation ...