The Consumer Price Index for May 2010 declined -0.2% from last month. In April CPI decreased -0.1%. This report is from the BLS website.

The drop was all energy, which declined -2.9%. Last month energy dropped -1.4%. Gas alone dropped -5.2% and energy commodities dropped -4.8%. Food, on the other hand, was unchanged, 0.0%. Not seasonally adjusted, CPI has risen 2.0% for the year, which is a drop on the average from last month.

Fueling up your ride has increased 27% for the year (gas prices). Cheap used cars are gone, they are up 16.7% for the year, 0.6% for this month. Energy of all types (which includes heating your home, electricity and so on), is up 14.7% for the year. Below is the percent change in regional regular gas prices from one year ago.

Look at the flatness of prices minus food and energy, a total yearly increase of +0.9%.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.1 percent in May, posting a monthly increase for only the second time this year. Contributing to the May rise were increases in a number of indexes including shelter, used cars and trucks, tobacco, apparel, and medical care. The index has increased 0.9 percent over the last 12 months.

While housing is heavily weighted (obviously the biggest expense is shelter for most people), look at the two categories of energy vs. housing in the below graph. Housing is not just home prices, it's everything related to sheltering oneself.

Medical costs only rose 0.1% this month. Unadjusted for the year, medical costs have risen +3.4%.

CPI-W increased 2.6% for the year. This index is used to calculate cost of living adjustments for social security.