U.S. inflation took biggest single-month drop in more than 6 years in June

Inflation was down both month over month and year over year in June.

Inflation tumbled in June thanks to declining gas prices, making for the largest single-month drop in U.S. inflation since April 2020, when the U.S. and global economy was upended by the COVID pandemic. 

The inflation numbers beat Wall Street analysts' expectations, with the consumer price index dropping 0.4%, according to CNBC, twice the 0.2% analysts had forecast. Inflation was down not only for crucial energy prices, The Wall Street Journal reported, but broadly across the American economy. 

Year-over-year inflation also dropped to 3.5%, down from the 4.2% inflation rate measured in May. Moreover, the annual inflation numbers defied the expectations of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who had forecast inflation in June to rise 3.8% from June 2025, Yahoo Finance reported. In addition, core inflation, which excludes food an energy prices, came in at 2.6% in June, also beating forecasts, which predicted 2.9% for last month.

Meanwhile, Kevin Warsh, the new chair of the Federal Reserve, who was appointed by President Trump and took over last month, testified in front of Congress on Tuesday and vowed that "the inflation surge of the last five years will be a thing of the past." He added that the "mistake" of the Fed's prior monetary policy is what has caused inflation to balloon over the last five years. "Inflation is a choice," Warsh told members of Congress. 

Oil prices have surged in recent days, as the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. has fallen apart and the American military has resumed strikes on Iranian targets, meaning July's numbers could go back up when they are reported next month, The Wall Street Journal pointed out. 

Watch the clip below for more on Tuesday's inflation numbers.