Inflation: Signs of a Turn

There was no excessive jubilation as yet in the White House, no cheering in the ornate board room of the Federal Reserve. But last week there were some promising signals that the momentum of inflation may be slowing. Policymakers—who have waited with growing impatience for the classic devices of high taxes and tight money to take effect —at last had some cause for optimism.

First, the Labor Department reported that the consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 3.8% in May. That was only half as much as April's advance; and it was the second month in a...