| U.S. consumer prices drops 0.1% in June |
| Date: 2010/7/20 Click: 1955 |
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U.S. consumer prices in June dopped for a third consecutive month, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The June Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks inflation at the retail level, declined a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent.
Core CPI, which exclude volatile energy and food costs, edged up 0.2 percent last month after a 0.1 percent increase in May. Over the past year, core prices rose only 0.9 percent.
The 0.1 percent drop in overall prices in June reflected a 2.9 percent decline in energy. Gasoline prices posted the biggest decline -- down 4.5 percent in June.
The index for food costs, which accounted for over 60 percent of the all items increase, was unchanged in June.
Though consumer prices continue to be subdued, economists do not expect deflation to be a threat. Some Fed officials, however, have recently raised such concerns. |
