U.S. consumer inflation eased in June more than analysts forecasted, government data showed Tuesday, as energy prices declined momentarily last month following a preliminary memorandum between U.S. and Iran deal to end the Middle East war.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 3.5% on a yearly basis, down from a 4.2% increase in May, said the Labor Department.
The figure marked a pullback from a three-year high in inflation.
Analysts had anticipated a larger 3.8% uptick, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
But the cooldown is unlikely to entirely ease worries over costs.
Renewed hostilities, and U.S. President Donald Trump's recent declaration that a cease-fire was over in the Middle East, have been pushing oil prices upwards again.
Later Tuesday morning, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Kevin Warsh will likely be grilled over progress on lowering inflation in the world's biggest economy when he appears before the House Financial Services Committee at 10 a.m. eastern time (2:00 p.m. GMT).
Warsh, in prepared remarks released Tuesday, is set to vow that the central bank will rid the U.S. of a years-long "inflation surge."
"The Fed's number one objective is to get monetary policy right – or as near to it as we possibly can," he says in his remarks.
"If we get policy right – and we will – the inflation surge of the last five years will be a thing of the past."
