U.S. inflation cooled sharply in June as falling gasoline and energy costs pulled consumer prices lower and slowed the annual rate to 3.5%. Food and shelter prices continued to advance, but core prices were unchanged for the month and rose less than expected over the year.
U.S. consumer prices fell 0.4% in June, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), coming in two-tenths of a percentage point below consensus estimates. The reading followed a 0.5% increase in May.
The CPI, a key inflation gauge, measures changes in what American consumers pay for a broad basket of goods and services, ranging from eggs to energy.
Food prices rose 0.2% for a second consecutive month. Grocery store prices edged up 0.2% after a 0.1% gain the prior month, while restaurant prices increased 0.2% following a 0.3% rise.
Over the past year, overall food prices climbed 3.0%, down from a 3.1% annual rate previously. Grocery prices rose 2.7% for a second straight month, while dining-out costs increased 3.4%, down from 3.5%.
Energy prices were a major driver of the overall decline in consumer prices. Gasoline prices fell 9.7% in June after surging 7.0% in May. Nonetheless, pump prices stood 26.7% higher than a year earlier, down from a 40.5% annual gain previously.
The broader energy index, which includes gasoline, electricity and fuel oil, declined 5.7% in June after rising 3.9% in May.
"The energy index was the largest contributor to the monthly all-items decrease, more than offsetting gains in other categories including shelter and food," the CPI report noted.
Compared with a year earlier, the energy index rose 15.7%, down from a 23.5% annual increase previously.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the core consumer prices were unchanged in June, two-tenths of a percentage point below expectations, after rising 0.2% in May.
Shelter costs increased 0.1% in June, slowing from a 0.3% gain in May. Over the past year, shelter prices rose 3.3%, down from 3.4% previously.
The shelter component of the CPI includes prices for apartment rents, owners’ equivalent rent — a measure of what homeowners would pay to rent their homes or earn from renting them out — lodging away from home such as hotels and motels, and housing at schools.
In other key categories:
- Clothing prices fell 0.6% in June after rising 0.3% in May and stood 3.9% higher than a year earlier.
- New vehicle prices were unchanged in June after declining 0.3% the prior month, leaving them 0.5% higher year over year.
- Used car and truck prices decreased 0.2% in June after edging up 0.1% in May and were 1.8% lower than a year earlier.
- Airline fares rose 0.2% in June following a 2.7% surge in May and stood 26.5% higher year over year.
The headline annual inflation rate slowed to 3.5% for the 12 months ending in June, two-tenths of a percentage point below expectations. That followed a 4.2% annual increase in May, the highest rise since April 2023.
Core inflation rose 2.6% over the 12 months through June, three-tenths of a percentage point below expectations, down from 2.9% in May — the highest since September.
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 help guide the central bank’s interest-rate decisions.
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 14, 2026.
To compile the CPI, the BLS collects prices each month in 75 urban areas from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 retail establishments.
December 2025 to June 2026 Consumer Prices – Gains & Losses in Percent
(Seasonally Adjusted from Prior Month and Unadjusted 12-Month)
| Dec 2025 | Jan 2026 | Feb 2026 | March 2026 | April 2026 | May 2026 | June 2026 | 12 Month | |
| All items | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.5 | -0.4 | 3.5 |
| Food | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 3.0 |
| Food at home | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | -0.2 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2.7 |
| Food away from home | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 3.4 |
| Energy | 0.3 | -1.5 | 0.6 | 10.9 | 3.8 | 3.9 | -5.7 | 15.7 |
| Energy commodities | -0.3 | -3.3 | 1.1 | 21.3 | 5.6 | 6.7 | -9.5 | 27.1 |
| Gasoline (all types) | -0.3 | -3.2 | 0.8 | 21.2 | 5.4 | 7.0 | -9.7 | 26.7 |
| Fuel oil | -0.8 | -5.7 | 11.1 | 30.7 | 5.8 | 3.8 | -9.2 | 42.9 |
| Energy services | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 | -0.7 | 3.9 |
| Electricity | 0.2 | -0.1 | -0.7 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 0.6 | -1.0 | 4.0 |
| Utility (piped) gas service | 3.7 | 1.0 | 3.1 | -0.9 | -0.1 | -0.5 | 0.5 | 3.0 |
| All items less food, energy | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2.6 |
| Commodities less food, energy | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | -0.1 | -0.1 | 0.8 |
| New vehicles | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.2 | -0.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Used cars and trucks | -0.9 | -1.8 | -0.4 | -0.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.2 | -1.8 |
| Apparel | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | -0.6 | 3.9 |
| Medical care commodities | 0.3 | -0.1 | 0.0 | -1.0 | -0.4 | -0.7 | -0.2 | -2.1 |
| Services less energy | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 3.2 |
| Shelter | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 3.3 |
| Transportation | 0.4 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | -0.6 | -0.3 | 3.4 |
| Medical care services | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | -0.1 | 2.9 |
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, 2026.
The CPI data are 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.
