The US Federal Reserve's favored measure of inflation eased slightly in May, according to government data published Friday, as goods prices continued to cool.

The data provide the US central bank with further evidence that its fight against inflation is back on track after a small uptick in the annual inflation rate in the first quarter of the year.

The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in May, the Commerce Department said in a statement, while monthly inflation remained unchanged.

This was in line with the median forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

The data adds to the case for the Fed to consider cutting interest rates, which currently sit at a 23-year high, but is unlikely to cause policymakers to immediately take action, given that inflation remains stuck above the bank's long-term target of two percent.

Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, the closely watched "core" measure of inflation eased to an annual rate of 2.6 percent in May, in line with expectations -- a sign that underlying prices cooled further.

The data published Friday also show that personal income rose by 0.5 percent from a month earlier, the Commerce Department said, up slightly from 0.3 percent in April.

Personal savings as a percentage of disposable income came in at 3.9 percent in May, up slightly from a revised figure of 3.7 percent a month earlier.