US economy shifts into disinflation mode; consumer prices rise modestly

U.S. consumer prices rose modestly in June and registered their smallest annual increase in more than two years as inflation subsided further, but probably not fast enough to dissuade the Federal Reserve from resuming raising interest rates this month.

The report from the Labor Department on Wednesday also showed underlying consumer prices posting their smallest monthly gain since August 2021. The considerable slowdown in underlying inflation sparked a rally on the stock and bond markets, with investors convinced the U.S. central bank's fastest monetary policy tightening cycle since the 1980s was drawing to a close.

"Inflation isn't dead, but the extraordinary pandemic push on prices from shortages and shift to stay-at-home purchases is clearly over, and the Fed for the first time has the upper hand in its inflation fight," said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York.