United States consumer prices increased moderately last month

US consumer prices increased moderately in July, though rising costs for goods because of import tariffs led to a measure of underlying inflation posting its largest gain in six months.

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The consumer price index rose 0.2 per cent last month after gaining 0.3 per cent in June, the labour Department's Bureau of labour Statistics said.

In the 12 months through July, the CPI advanced 2.7 per cent after rising 2.7 per cent in June. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI rising 0.2 per cent and increasing 2.8 per cent year-on-year.

Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI rose 0.3 per cent, the biggest gain since January, after climbing 0.2 per cent in June. The so-called core CPI increased 3.1 per cent year-on-year in July after advancing 2.9% in June.

The Federal Reserve tracks different inflation measures for its 2% target. Prior to the CPI data, financial markets expected the US central bank would resume cutting interest rates in September after July's weak employment report and sharp downward revisions to the nonfarm payrolls counts for May and June.

The Fed left its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range last month for the fifth straight time since December.

The CPI report was published amid mounting concerns over the quality of inflation and employment reports following cuts in budget and staffing that have led to the suspension of data collection for portions of the CPI basket in some areas across the country.