WASHINGTON - Consumer prices fell 0.2% in June on a seasonally adjusted basis the Labor Department reported Friday, after a revised 0.2% rise in May.
That was the largest drop since a similar fall of 0.2% in June 2010.
Core consumer prices, excluding food and energy were up 0.3%% in June following a revised 0.3% increase in May.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had a median estimate of a 0.1% drop for prices overall and a 0.2% gain for the core CPI.
Energy prices drove down the headline number with a 4.4% drop, with gasoline tumbling 6.8%. That was the biggest decline in overall energy prices and gasoline since December 2008.
Food prices in June were up 0.2% after a revised 0.4% rise in May. The food increase was the smallest since a 0.1% rise in December 2010.
In the core index, home ownership, defined as owners equivalent rent, rose 0.2%. It accounts for about a third of the core value. New car prices rose 0.6% while used vehicle prices picked up 1.6%. Overall services prices were up 0.1%.
Year-over-year the CPI was up 3.6%, but the core rate, of more interest to the Federal Reserve, was up 1.6%, not enough to raise inflation alarms.
Real average hourly earnings rose 0.2% in June, seasonally adjusted.
