US inflation flat in June

[WASHINGTON] Cheap energy prices kept US inflation flat in June in another sign price pressures remain weak in the world's largest economy, Labor Department figures showed Friday.

The falling price of gasoline also helped hold down US retail sales, which contracted for the second straight month in June, the Commerce Department reported separately.

Slow inflation has baffled economists given the very low unemployment rate, but the numbers come even as US central bankers continue to say they expect inflation to rebound allowing them to raise the benchmark interest rate gradually.

AFP