US consumer inflation returns in June

US consumer prices rose broadly in June, bringing the annual inflation rate back into positive territory, government data released Friday showed.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3 percent in June, a notch below the 0.4 percent gain in May.

There were broad-based increases across the economy, including advances in gasoline, food and shelter.

Energy prices rose for a second straight month in June, by 1.7 percent. Gasoline prices at the pump rose 3.4 percent after a 10.4 percent surge in May.

After staying flat for two months, food prices rose by 0.3 percent in June driven mainly by a sharp increase in egg prices.

With farmers forced to slaughter millions of chickens and other birds due to an avian flu outbreak, egg prices soared 18.3 percent in June, their biggest jump since August 1973.

Stripping out food and energy, core CPI rose 0.2 percent, up from 0.1 percent in May.

Year-over-year, the CPI was up 0.1 percent in June after holding at zero in May. Core CPI was up 1.8 percent from a year ago, accelerating slightly toward the Federal Reserve's 2.0 percent target.

"The uplift in core inflation pours further fuel on expectations of US (interest) rates rising by the end of the year," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.

"Recent comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen point to the growing likelihood of interest rates starting to rise later this year, stressing that the Fed is keen to start the process of normalizing monetary policy after more than six years of near-zero interest rates," he said.