Cheaper gas, wireless plans keep US inflation in check
WASHINGTON — Lower costs for gas, airline tickets, new and used cars and wireless mobile phone plans kept U.S. consumer prices flat in June, evidence that inflation remains muted.
The unchanged reading followed a drop of 0.1 per cent in May, the Labor Department said Friday. Inflation has climbed just 1.6 per cent from a year ago. That’s down sharply from February, when prices rose 2.7 per cent from a year earlier.
Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices rose 0.1 per cent in June and 1.7 per cent from a year earlier.
As inflation has slowed, the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates once more this year and three times next year have come under greater scrutiny. The Fed typically hikes rates to ward off rising inflation, yet price gains have declined this year.