Sorry, inflation hawks: Producer prices barely rise

Those inflation hawks you've seen flying above are heading back to their nests. That's because inflation remained tame in May, with producer prices rising a scant 0.2 percent, the U.S. Labor Department announced Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the core rate, which excludes the often-volatile food and energy components, actually fell 0.1 percent, indicating that the bulk of what little inflation that exists in the economy is energy based.

May's energy price data bears that out: energy prices rose 2.9 percent in May, with gasoline prices leading the way. U.S. motorists can certainly attest to that: average U.S. gasoline prices have increased more than 55 percent in six months, including a whopping 13.9 percent surge in May alone.