US Inflation Drops to 3.5% in June, Driven by Falling Oil Prices

On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the Consumer Price Index experienced a decline of 0.4% in June, resulting in the annual inflation rate dropping to 3.5% from May's 4.2%. This monthly decrease marked the most significant drop since April 2020. The energy index fell by 5.7%, with gasoline prices decreasing by 9.7%, although it still remained 15.7% higher than the previous year. Core inflation stabilized at 2.6%. Food prices saw a slight increase of 0.2%, particularly with eggs rising by 4.3%. Wall Street had predicted a 0.2% decrease and an annual rate of 3.8%. Federal Reserve officials are closely observing these figures, with markets expecting rates to hold steady in July and possibly rise in September.