10:37 AM EDT, 06/11/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Consumer inflation unexpectedly decelerated last month, weighed down by lower energy prices, US government data showed Wednesday, prompting President Donald Trump to again call on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.

The consumer price index rose 0.1% in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A Bloomberg-polled consensus expected a 0.2% increase, which was the pace of growth in April.

Annually, inflation accelerated to 2.4% last month, in line with the Street's view, from 2.3% in April.

In a Wednesday post on the Truth Social platform, Trump said the CPI report showed "great numbers" and that the Fed should lower its policy rate by a full percentage point. Markets are widely anticipating the central bank to leave its benchmark lending rate unchanged next week, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

"Policymakers remain in a holding pattern until they gain more certainty on how the administration's trade and fiscal policies will impact both the real economy and inflation trajectory," TD Economics Senior Economist Thomas Feltmate said in a note. "With the labor market still healthy and near-term inflation likely to drift higher, the prospect of a summer rate cut has faded."

Energy prices declined 1% in May, swinging from a positive reading the month prior. On an annual basis, the energy index declined 3.5%. Food prices rebounded on a monthly basis, rising 0.3% in May, while growing 2.9% annually, the BLS data showed.

Price pressures remained "subdued" last month, but there's "some evidence to suggest that tariff pass-through is underway," according to Feltmate. "We expect (price) pressures for consumer goods to heat up over the coming months, as businesses drawdown on existing inventory stockpiles and higher input costs start to squeeze profit margins."

Core inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy components, cooled to 0.1% last month from 0.2% in April, below expectations for a 0.3% increase. The annual core measure came in at 2.8%, trailing the Street's forecast for a 2.9% rise.

Trump said Wednesday that China will supply rare earths upfront as part of a trade agreement that is subject to his approval and that of his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. US and Chinese officials have agreed on a framework for implementing the pact the two countries reached in Switzerland last month, CNBC reported.