Consumer prices rose 1.9% in May in...

Consumer prices rose 1.9% in May in Mexico to register the smallest increase since November, 1981, the government reported. It was the fourth consecutive month that the inflation rate eased. The Bank of Mexico, the nation’s central bank, attributed the brighter price picture to a government program unveiled by President Miguel de la Madrid in December. A key component of the inflation-fighting program is a freeze on the minimum wage, prices of government-regulated goods and services and the exchange rate of the peso currency. Consumer prices skyrocketed a record 159.2% last year.