The Honolulu metro area in Hawaii, meanwhile, saw the nation’s highest annual inflation rate in May, at 5.2%. Housing costs have therefore eased over the past year, tugging inflation overall much lower. Tight housing-market conditions are also plaguing New York, which at one point boasted the lowest inflation rate in the country. Housing costs make up about a third of the Labor Department’s CPI, a closely watched inflation gauge. Inflation is down substantially from the 40-year highs of two years ago, but housing costs have remained stubbornly elevated.

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