Inflation in Ireland, as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, is estimated to have moderated to an annual rate of 5.4% in May from 6.3% in April, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show.
But core inflation accelerated to 5.7% from 5.2% a month earlier, the CSO said.
It was the first time the rate of HICP excluding energy and unprocessed food, known by economists as core inflation and seen as a better gauge of the underlying trend, surpassed the headline rate since prices began to rise sharply in late 2021.
Today's figures show that energy prices are estimated to have decreased by 3.1% in the month and increased by 1.9% since May last year.
Food prices are estimated to have increased by 0.4% in the last month and are up by 12.5% in the last 12 months.
Meanwhile, transport costs fell by 1.3% in the month and are down by 1.4% in the 12 months to May.
The euro zone inflation figures will be published tomorrow, while the CSO inflation figures for May will be released on June 8.
