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U.S. consumer prices decreased in May for the second straight month as gasoline prices fell, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The consumer price index fell a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent after a 0.1 percent decline in April, the government said. Energy prices fell 2.9 percent, food prices were flat and shelter prices rose 0.1 percent. The core CPI — which excludes volatile food and energy prices in order to get a look at underlying inflation — rose 0.1 percent, just the second monthly increase this year.

The report matched expectations.

Energy prices were the big story in May, falling 2.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. Gasoline prices fell 5.2 percent, seasonally adjusted. In the past year, energy prices are up 15 percent.

Excluding energy, consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in May. Most major categories of consumer spending showed flat or slightly rising prices.

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