Inflation is cooling faster than expected, June CPI report shows

Consumer prices are continuing to moderate, with June data showing U.S. inflation is once again cooling after unexpectedly high readings earlier this year. The new report could help bolster the case for an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve in September.

Consumer prices declined 0.1% in June from May, with inflation curtailed by lower gas prices and a smaller increase in costs at the grocery store. On an annual basis, inflation registered at 3.0%, down from 3.3% in May, indicating that inflation is cooling faster than expected, as economists had forecasted an increase of 3.1%, according to FactSet.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday signaled "considerable progress" in slowing inflation to the central bank's 2% target. Still, he emphasized that the central bank needs to see "more good data" to have confidence to cut their benchmark interest rate, currently at a two-decade high of 5.3%.