US inflation accelerated last month to highest level since February

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation rose last month to its highest level in four months as the cost of gas, food, and groceries rose, reversing several months of cooling price pressures.

Consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3% from May to June, after rising just 0.1% the previous month.

Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for President Donald Trump, who promised during last year’s presidential campaign to immediately lower costs. The sharp inflation spike of 2022-2023 was the worst in four decades and soured most Americans on former president Joe Biden’s handling of the economy. Higher inflation will also likely heighten the Federal Reserve’s reluctance to cut its short-term interest rate, as Trump is loudly demanding.

FILE - A shopper considers large-screen televisions on display in a Costco warehouse Oct. 3, 2024, in Timnath, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) — FILE – A shopper considers large-screen televisions on display in a Costco warehouse Oct. 3, 2024, in Timnath, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core inflation increased 2.9% in June from a year earlier, up from 2.8% in May. On a monthly basis, it picked up 0.2% from May to June. Economists closely watch core prices because they typically provide a better sense of where inflation is headed.