WASHINGTON, July 16 (UPI) -- Consumer prices dropped for the third consecutive month in June led by drops in both food and energy costs, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Friday.
Core consumer prices that exclude the more volatile categories of food and energy rose 0.2 percent, following a 0.1 percent rise in May, which followed two months in which core prices were unchanged.
For the past 12 months, core prices have risen 1.9 percent, below the Federal Reserve's target of 2 percent.
A drop of 2.9 percent in energy prices pushed prices lower in June with a 4.5 percent decline in prices at the gas pump and a 3.2 percent dip in fuel oil prices.
Food prices, meanwhile, dropped 0.1 percent in the month, following a month in which food prices were unchanged.
For the year, food prices are up 0.7 percent while energy prices are up 3 percent from June 2009 on an unadjusted basis.
