WASHINGTON -Consumer inflation in the United States cooled for an 11th straight month on an annual basis in May, the Labor Department said Tuesday, in an encouraging sign for policymakers. The figures came as Federal Reserve officials began a two-day policy meeting on the same day, and this could allow room for a pause in the central bank's interest rate hikes at the end of their gathering. While the Fed has lifted the benchmark lending rate 10 times consecutively since early last year to rein in inflation, it is widely anticipated to hold off further hikes this week on signs of cooling in the world's biggest economy. Divided Fed expected to rally around a US interest rate pause...Keep on reading: US consumer inflation eases for 11th straight month