Inflation was 3.5% in June, lower than estimated
The BLS reported that inflation in the United States fell to 3.5% in June, driven by the drop in gasoline and below what was expected by various analysts.
Inflation in the United States slowed during June and gave a sign of relief to consumers and markets. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) registered an annual rate of 3.5%, below the 4.2% reported in May and also lower than analysts' expectations, according to the report published this Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
In its monthly comparison, consumer prices decreased 0.4%, after the 0.5% increase observed the previous month. This is the largest monthly drop in the index since April 2020, when it fell 0.8%.
The main factor behind the moderation was the energy sector. According to the BLS, the energy index fell 5.7% during June, after increasing consecutively in the previous three months. The decrease was enough to offset the increases recorded in other components, including housing and food.
Gasoline led this decline by registering a monthly drop of 9.7%. Without seasonal adjustment, the decrease was exactly the same, reflecting that consumers also perceived a lower cost when refueling. Even so, in annual terms, the energy index accumulates an increase of 15.7%, while gasoline continues to show an increase of 26.7% compared to June of last year.
Regarding food, this economic factor maintained a trend of moderate increases, which was reflected in the 0.2% advance in its respective index in June, the same pace as in May. Food for consumption at home and food outside the home also increased 0.2%.
Among the products with the greatest increases, meat, poultry, fish and eggs stood out, with a monthly increase of 0.6%, driven by the 4.3% increase in egg prices.
Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes food and energy as they are considered more volatile components, remained unchanged during June and stood at 2.6% at an annual rate, compared to the 2.9% recorded in May.
For its part, the housing index advanced just 0.1%, its lowest monthly increase since January 2021.
Before the report's publication, economists consulted by FactSet expected annual inflation of 3.9%. The official result was four tenths below those forecasts, driven mainly by the fall in energy prices.
According to Oxford Economics, May inflation could have marked the highest point of the year, following the decline seen in oil and gasoline prices during June.