US inflation reaches in June, highest in 6 years

Agencia
UNITED STATES.- Consumer prices rose in June from a year earlier at the fastest pace in more than six years, lifted by more expensive gas, car insurance, and higher rent.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the consumer price index ticked up just 0.1 percent in June. But inflation jumped 2.9 percent from a year earlier, the largest annual gain since February 2012. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.2 percent in June and 2.3 percent from a year earlier.

Solid economic growth and supply bottlenecks have pushed inflation past the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target, after price gains had languished below that level for six years. That is a key reason that Fed officials expect to raise short-term rates twice more this year.

Price gains may intensify if President Donald Trump makes good on his threat Tuesday to slap tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods, including furniture, hats, and handbags. If implemented, those duties, combined with tariffs put in place last week, would mean about half of China’s imports would be subject to extra duties, likely boosting costs for consumers.

Andrew Hunter, an economist at Capital Economics, said overall inflation may decline in the coming months as the recent gas price spikes level off. Prices at the pump averaged $2.88 a gallon nationwide Thursday, down 3 cents from mid-June.

“Nonetheless, with the labor market exceptionally tight and activity expanding strongly, we think that core inflation has further to rise,” Hunter said in a research note.