US annual inflation slowed to 3% last month, according to the latest Consumer Price Index released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The June annual rate is down from 4% in May and landed slightly below economists’ expectations for a 3.1% increase, according to Refinitiv. Starting in March 2022, the central bank rolled out 10 consecutive interest rate hikes to tame inflation, finally hitting pause last month. And June of last year was monumental: Annual inflation soared to 9.1%, the highest in more than 40 years largely because of record-high energy costs. So the Fed and economists have been keyed in on what’s happening with core inflation, particularly core services.

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Persons: Olivia Newton, ” William Ferguson, “, Joe Biden, ” Sung Won Sohn, Lael Brainard, ” Brainard, Brainard, ” Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter, Sohn, ”, —, Nicole Goodkind Organizations: Minneapolis CNN, Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI, Grinnell College, CNN, Federal Reserve, Loyola Marymount University, SS Economics, Core PCE, National Economic Council, Economic, of New, BLS, Kansas City Fed Locations: Minneapolis, Iowa, of New York