HomeInflationUS Inflation Rises in June, Annual Inflation Sticks to 1%

US Inflation Rises in June, Annual Inflation Sticks to 1%

Several key U.S. inflation figures for June matched those from a month earlier, according to a government report released on Friday, July 15.

In the overall picture, Americans paid more last month for gasoline, housing and healthcare but less for food, clothing and cars.

Consumer prices rose 0.2% in June after the same gain in May, the US Labor Department revealed in its monthly report on the Consumer Price Index. The CPI measures what U.S. consumers pay for everything from electricity to movie tickets.

Prices at the pump climbed 3.3% after rising 2.3% in May. The monthly increase marks a fourth in a row. The string of gains started with a 2.2% increase in March and was followed by a 8.1% advance in April for the biggest jump since August 2012. Still, gasoline prices are 9.4% lower than a year earlier.

The broader index for energy, which combines items like gasoline, electricity and fuel oil, moved up in June by one point to 1.3%. Energy prices are down 9.4% over the last 12 months.

Food prices retreated for a second month in a row, easing 0.1% after falling 0.2% previously. They are 0.3% higher over the past 12 months.

Stripping volatile food and energy, so-called core consumer prices also moved 0.2% higher in June, matching their previous two monthly increases.

"The shelter index rose 0.3 percent, and a broad array of indexes also increased, including medical care, education, airline fares, motor vehicle insurance, and recreation," the Labor Department’s report said. "In contrast, the indexes for used cars and trucks, apparel, communication, and household furnishings and operations all declined."

U.S. inflation rose by a rate of 1.0% over the past year, and also for a second time. The year-on-year climb is below the 1.7% average annual increase over the last 10 years, the Labor Department noted.

In closing out the Labor Department’s report, core U.S. inflation ran 2.3% quicker on an annual basis after running a 2.2% pace in the 12 months ended May. The core annual reading is one of the benchmark inflation rates monitored by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) as it helps the central bank decide where to set the key interest rate.

"We’re starting to see upward pressure on the inflation numbers," Bloomberg News quoted Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics Ltd. "It reinforces the case for the Fed to resume tightening, though they’re highly risk averse right now."

Inflation data tabled below is from the last seven months through June, as published by the US Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/cpi). To get the data, the BLS monitors prices of consumer goods and services from around the nation. These prices are collected continually, analyzed and then summarized in monthly reports. The data offers the monthly and latest annual changes in percentages.

December 2015 to June 2016 Consumer Prices – Gains & Losses in Percent

  Dec 2015 Jan 2016 Feb 2016 Mar 2016 Apr 2016 May 2016 June 2016 12 Month
All items -0.1 .0 -0.2 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.2 1.0
  Food -0.2 .0 0.2 -0.2 0.2 -0.2 -0.1 0.3
    Food at home -0.4 -0.2 0.2 -0.5 0.1 -0.5 -0.3 -1.3
    Food away from home 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 2.6
  Energy -2.4 -2.8 -6.0 0.9 3.4 1.2 1.3 -9.4
    Energy commodities -4.8 -4.8 -12.5 1.9 7.8 2.4 3.3 -15.3
      Gasoline (all types) -4.8 -4.8 -13.0 2.2 8.1 2.3 3.3 -15.4
      Fuel oil -7.8 -6.5 -2.9 1.7 1.9 6.2 3.3 -19.6
    Energy services -0.7 -0.7 0.1 0.2 -0.1 0.2 -0.5 -2.5
      Electricity -0.4 -0.7 -0.2 0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.5 -1.8
      Utility (piped) gas service -1.9 -0.6 1.0 -0.7 0.6 1.7 -0.4 -5.0
  All items less food, energy 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 2.3
    Commodities less food, energy -0.1 0.2 0.3 -0.2 -0.1 -0.2 -0.2 -0.6
      New vehicles .0 0.3 0.2 .0 -0.3 -0.1 -0.2 -0.4
      Used cars and trucks 0.2 0.1 0.2 -0.1 -0.3 -1.3 -1.1 -3.1
      Apparel -0.2 0.6 1.6 -1.1 -0.3 0.8 -0.4 0.4
      Medical care 0.1 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.5 -0.2 1.1 3.2
    Services less energy 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 3.2
      Shelter 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 3.5
      Transportation 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.7 0.3 0.3 3.0
      Medical care 0.1 0.5 0.5 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.2 3.8

 

The BLS usually releases new inflation data around mid-month with consumer prices current to the previous month. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July and the latest 12-month or annual period becomes public on August 16, 2016.

CPI data is used in calculating inflation rates and in this site’s calculator for inflation in the United States. The US Inflation Calculator too on the homepage shows accumulated inflation and the change in buying power of the American dollar over time.

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