By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in June as the higher cost of food offset another decline in energy, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The energy index fell 1.4% while the food index rose 0.2%. So-called core prices, which strip out volatile food and energy costs, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a no change in the main CPI and a 0.2% increase in core CPI. Consumer prices have risen an unadjusted 1/7% over the past 12 months, the same as in May. The core rate has increased 2.2% over the past 12 months, down from 2.3%. The government also reported that inflation-adjusted hourly wages, on average, rose 0.2% in June.
