Inflation drops to lowest rate in nearly two years

The Labor Department reported on Wednesday that consumer prices rose only 3 percent during the twelve months ending in June. That’s down significantly from May’s number of 4 percent, and is the lowest inflation rate in the U.S. since March 2021.

What contributed to this slowdown in inflation? Airline fares fell roughly 8 percent in June. The inflation of food prices at home has eased and was almost unchanged between May and June, while restaurant prices continued to go up. The annualized rate of inflation has persistently—if slowly—declined since its peak of more than nine percent last June. The Federal Reserve will decide in roughly two weeks if it will raise interest rates yet again. It chose not to raise interest rates at its last meeting. Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, this week said more rate hikes may be necessary to further tame inflation.

Dig deeper: Read Jerry Bowyer’s column in WORLD Opinions from earlier this year about investors’ no-confidence vote in the U.S. economy for 2023.