U.S. inflation generally fell in June, boosting interest rate cut expectations

On July 11, inflation in the United States generally cooled in June, further boosting the confidence of Federal Reserve officials that the Federal Reserve may soon cut interest rates. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.1% from May, the smallest increase since August 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The measure rose 3.3% year-on-year and was also the slowest increase in more than three years, data released on Thursday showed. Economists believe the core measure is a better indicator of underlying inflation than the headline CPI. Dragged down by lower gasoline prices, the headline CPI measure fell 0.1% from the previous month and 3% from a year earlier, marking the first decline since the COVID-19 pandemic began.