CHICAGO, Reuters The last mile of the Federal Reserve39;s battle against inflation may have shortened to a last lap after U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly fell in June, shoring up policymakers39; confidence that they are winning the fight and paving the way to interestrate cuts in coming months.

The consumer price index slid 0.1 last month after being unchanged in May, the Labor Department39;s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday. It was the weakest monthly reading since May 2020, early in the pandemic, while the 3 yearoveryear rise was the lowest reading in a year.

Over the past three months consumer prices have risen at just a 1 annual rate.

This is what the path to 2 looks like, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee told reporters, calling the latest inflation data excellent and the improvement on what has been sticky housing inflation profoundly encouraging.

St Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem gave a slightly more muted thumbs up, calling it encouraging further progress toward the Fed39;s 2 inflation target.

A welcome relief, said San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, adding that the gradual easing of price pressures bolsters the case for lower interest rates even if the timing remains a matter for debate.

With the information we have received today, which includes data on employment, inflation, growth, and the outlook for the economy, I see it as likely that policy adjustments, some policy adjustments, will be warranted, Daly said. Exactly when…