WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers absorbed another surge in prices in May — a 0.6% increase over the past month and 5% over the past year, the biggest 12-month inflation spike since 2008. The May rise in consumer prices reflected a range of goods and services now in growing demand as people increasingly shop, travel, dine out and attend entertainment events in a rapidly reopening economy. The increased consumer appetite is bumping up against a shortage of components, from lumber and steel to chemicals and semiconductors, that supply such key products as autos and computer equipment, all of which has forced up prices.
Another jump in prices tightens the squeeze on US consumers
