© Reuters. U.S. core inflation inches further ahead of Fed 2% target

Investing.com - Consumer price inflation (CPI) in the U.S. rose slightly less than expected in June, while the small increase in prices excluding food and energy costs settled in line with forecasts, official data showed on Friday.

In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that rose 0.2% in June from a month earlier, compared to expectations for a 0.3% gain and an increase of 0.2% in May.

Year-over-year, were 1.0% higher from the same month a year earlier, below expectations for a gain of 1.1% and after having risen 1.0% in May.

, increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.2%, in line with forecasts. Core CPI also rose 0.2% in May.

increased at annualized rate of 2.3% last month, which was also in line with forecasts but higher than May’s gain of 2.2%.

Core prices are viewed by the Federal Reserve as a better gauge of longer-term inflationary pressure because they exclude the volatile food and energy categories. The central bank usually tries to aim for 2% core inflation or less.

After the report, which was released simultaneously with , the dollar strengthened. was trading at 1.1117 from around 1.1129 ahead of the release of the data, was at 1.3336 from 1.3359 earlier, while was at 105.95 from 105.76 earlier.

The , which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.16, compared to 96.04 ahead of the report.

Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures moved slightly higher after the two releases, moving from a flat read to slight gains. The pointed to a gain of 0.18%, the rose 0.20%, while the inched up 0.09%.

Elsewhere, in the commodities market, traded at 1,330.15 a troy ounce, compared to $1,334.47 ahead of the data, while traded at $46.14 a barrel from $45.80 earlier.