Inflation in June hit its highest level since February following the Trump Administration’s tariffs, wrote the Associated Press.

Consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said this week, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3% from May to June, after rising just 0.1% the previous month.

“Core” inflation, which removes volatile food and energy prices and is seen as a reliable gauge for underlying price pressures, also shifted higher, reported The New York Times. Those prices were up 2.9% from the same time last year. Over the course of the month, prices rose 0.3%, a notable pickup from a 0.1% increase in May. Core prices rose 0.2%.

“Inflation has begun to show the first signs of tariff pass-through,” Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management said, adding the June figures are “likely the first of greater price pressures to come.”

That uncertainty surrounding future inflation is complicating matters for the Federal Reserve, which has been trying to tamp down on pandemic-era price hikes, wrote The Washington Post. “The consumer price index, which peaked at 9.1% three years ago, had recently come down to as low as 2.3%. The Fed generally tries to keep annual inflation at about 2%.”

Economists expect price pressures to intensify over the coming months, especially if new tariffs against the European Union and a host of other countries in recent days are imposed on August 1 as planned, wrote the NYT.

Interested in how economic trends are impacting the retail and convenience sectors? Join your peers at the “Economic Trends Shaping the Future of Retail” session at the 2025 NACS Show in Chicago October 14-17. Register for the NACS Show here.