US inflation ticks higher but tariff impact remains muted

Prices for toys, car parts and major appliances jumped in the US last month, but the overall impact of Donald Trump's new tariffs on consumers remained relatively muted.

Inflation, the pace of price increases, picked up to 2.4% in May, rising from 2.3% in April, the Labor Department said.

That came as higher prices for some items were offset by declines in other areas, such as petrol, airfares and clothing.

The monthly report is being closely watched to see how Trump's moves to raise taxes on imports play out across the world's largest economy.

Since re-entering the White House in January, Trump has imposed new tariffs on imports from around the world, putting in place a 10% tariff on most items, while targeting goods from some countries and sectors with even higher duties.

Economists have warned that the new levies will raise costs for companies, and lead to higher prices for households, risking the return of an inflation problem that appeared to be subsiding.

But Trump has rejected those predictions, arguing that companies in other countries will shoulder the burden of the new costs, while the tariffs benefit American producers and the wider economy.

For now, the consumer price report indicated that the impact on households remained relatively muted, primarily hitting items - such as appliances, where the US depends heavily on China for supply.

Overall, prices rose just 0.1% from April to May, after rising 0.2% a month earlier.

Analysts, however, said they expected it would take time for the tariffs to work their way into the data.

"Today's below forecast inflation print is reassuring – but only to an extent," said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.

"Tariff-driven price increases may not feed through to the CPI data for a few more months yet, so it is far too premature to assume that the price shock will not materialise."