The pace of inflation in the United States accelerated in June, with prices rising for items such as food, gasoline, shelter, and clothing, while the costs of new and used vehicles declined, according to a government report released Tuesday, July 15. Still, the top-line inflation numbers met expectations, and core inflation measures pointed to ongoing stability.
The headline monthly inflation figure showed a 0.3% increase in U.S. consumer prices for June, matching expectations, after a 0.1% rise in May, according to the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key inflation gauge, measures what American consumers pay for a wide range of everyday goods and services, from clothing to cars.
Food prices overall rose 0.3% in June for a second consecutive month. Grocery store prices likewise increased 0.3% for the second month in a row, while restaurant prices climbed 0.4% after a 0.3% gain. Egg prices dropped sharply once again – down 7.4% following monthly declines of 2.7% and 12.7% – though they remained 27.3% higher than a year ago.
Over the past year, food prices rose 3%, edging up from 2.9% in May. Grocery prices increased 2.4%, compared to 2.2% the month before, while dining-out costs rose 3.8% for the second straight month.
In other sectors, gasoline prices rose 1% in June, following a 2.6% decline in May. Year over year, gas prices were down 8.3%, extending May’s 12% annual drop.
The broader energy index, which includes gasoline, electricity, and fuel oil, rose 0.9% in June after falling 1% in May. Over the past year, energy prices fell 0.8%, adding to previous 3.5% decline.
Excluding volatile food and energy components, the rate of core consumer prices rose 0.2% in June, up from the previous 0.1% increase yet one-tenth of a percentage point below expectations.
"While today’s CPI release showed some early signs of tariff impact, on the whole underlying inflation remained muted," Reuters quoted Kay Haigh, global co-head of fixed income and liquidity solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Shelter costs rose 0.2% during the month, down from May’s 0.3% increase but marking the 62nd consecutive monthly gain. Over the past year, shelter prices rose 3.8%, slightly below May’s 3.9% pace.
Annual shelter inflation has steadily eased from recent highs. For comparison, 12-month increases were:
- May 2025: 3.9%
- April 2025: 4.0%
- March 2025: 4.0%
- February 2025: 4.2%
- January 2025: 4.4%
- December 2024: 4.6%
- November 2024: 4.7%
- October 2024: 4.9%
- September 2024: 4.9%
- August 2024: 5.2%
- July 2024: 5.1%
- June 2024: 5.2%
- May 2024: 5.4%
- April 2024: 5.5%
- March 2024: 5.7%
- February 2024: 5.7%
- January 2024: 6.0%
- December 2023: 6.2%
- November 2023: 6.5%
- October 2023: 6.7%
- September 2023: 7.2%
- August 2023: 7.3%
- July 2023: 7.7%
- June 2023: 7.8%
- May 2023: 8.0%
- April 2023: 8.1%
- March 2023: 8.2% – the highest since June 1982
The shelter component of the CPI includes prices for items such as apartment rents, owners’ equivalent rent – a measure of what homeowners would pay to rent or earn from renting their property – lodging away from home like hotels and motels, and housing at schools.
In other key pricing categories:
- Clothing prices rose 0.4% in June, reversing a 0.4% decline in May, but were 0.5% lower than a year earlier.
- New vehicle prices fell 0.3% for the second straight month and were up 0.2% year over year.
- Used car and truck prices declined 0.7% in June after two consecutive 0.5% drops, though they remained 2.8% higher than a year ago.
- Airline fares edged down 0.1% in June following a 2.7% decrease in May, and were 3.5% lower than a year earlier.
For the headline annual rate, inflation rose 2.7% over the 12 months ending in June, up from 2.4% in May. The figure was broadly in line with expectations, though some forecasts had projected a 2.6% increase.
For added perspective, inflation peaked at 9.1% during the 12-month period ending in June 2022. This was the fastest rate of inflation since November 1981. Additionally, until March 2023, inflation rates had remained at or above 6% for 17 consecutive months.
As expected, core inflation rose 2.9% over the year through June, following three straight 2.8% increases – the lowest annual rate since March 2021. This core, "all items less food and energy" index, is one of the benchmark inflation rates monitored by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to guide the central bank in setting its key interest rate.
In September 2022, the annual core inflation rate at 6.6% was the highest since August 1982. Many economists consider the core reading as a better predictor for future inflation.
The following table of key inflation figures is for the last seven months through June, as published by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/cpi) on July 15, 2025. To index the data each month, the BLS monitors the prices of about 80,000 consumer goods and services from around the nation. All monthly and annual pricing changes are in percentages.
December 2024 to June 2025 Consumer Prices – Gains & Losses in Percent
(Seasonally Adjusted from Prior Month and Unadjusted 12-Month)
| Dec 2024 | Jan 2024 | Feb 2024 | May 2025 | Apr 2025 | May 2025 | June 2025 | 12 Month | |
| All items | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2.7 |
| Food | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 | -0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.0 |
| Food at home | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | -0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.4 |
| Food away from home | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 3.8 |
| Energy | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.2 | -2.4 | 0.7 | -1.0 | 0.9 | -0.8 |
| Energy commodities | 3.9 | 1.9 | -0.9 | -6.1 | -0.2 | -2.4 | 1.0 | -7.9 |
| Gasoline (all types) | 4.0 | 1.8 | -1.0 | -6.3 | -0.1 | -2.6 | 1.0 | -8.3 |
| Fuel oil | 2.1 | 6.2 | 0.8 | -4.2 | -1.3 | 0.9 | 1.3 | -4.7 |
| Energy services | 0.8 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 7.5 |
| Electricity | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 5.8 |
| Utility (piped) gas service | 2.8 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 | -1.0 | 0.5 | 14.2 |
| All items less food, energy | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2.9 |
| Commodities less food, energy | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| New vehicles | 0.4 | 0.0 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | -0.3 | -0.3 | 0.2 |
| Used cars and trucks | 0.8 | 2.2 | 0.9 | -0.7 | -0.5 | -0.5 | -0.7 | 2.8 |
| Apparel | 0.1 | -1.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | -0.2 | -0.4 | 0.4 | -0.5 |
| Medical care | 0.0 | 1.2 | 0.1 | -1.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Services less energy | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 3.6 |
| Shelter | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 3.8 |
| Transportation | 0.5 | 1.8 | -0.8 | -1.4 | 0.1 | -0.2 | 0.2 | 3.4 |
| Medical care | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 3.4 |
The BLS releases inflation data around the middle of the month, covering consumer prices surveyed up to the previous month. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July and the latest annual period will be made public on August 12, 2025.
The CPI data is also used to calculate inflation rates and power this site’s U.S. Inflation Calculator, which displays the cumulative inflation and the change in the buying power of the U.S. dollar over time.
