MEXICO CITY, June 9 (Reuters) - Mexico's annual inflation rate decelerated for a second month in a row in May, official data showed on Tuesday, returning to the higher end of the central bank's target range.
Consumer prices in Latin America's second-largest economy rose 3.94% in the year through May, easing from a 4.45% increase the prior month and landing lower than economists' forecasts for a 4.2% increase in a Reuters poll.
Mexico's central bank, also known as Banxico, has an inflation target range of 3%, plus or minus a percentage point, and expects the rate to hit its aimed 3% in the second quarter of 2027.
In May alone, consumer prices registered a bigger-than-expected decline, down 0.21% from the month before, according to non-seasonally adjusted figures, compared with economists' expectations of a 0.12% decline.
The closely watched core index, which strips out some volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.22% during the month, and on annual terms it slowed to 4.19%, down from 4.26% in April.
Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Carlos Serrano; Editing by Alex Richardson
Source: Reuters