June price drop may shorten the Fed’s last mile on inflation

 The “last mile” of the US Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation may have shortened to a last lap after consumer prices fell in June, a long-awaited slowing of shelter cost increases took shape, and markets began pushing down yields on bonds and inflation-protected securities.

The consumer price index slid 0.1% last month after being unchanged in May, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday, and the year-over-year rise cooled to 3%, the lowest reading in a year.