New Delhi, July 14 -- US Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation eased to 3.5% in June from 4.2% a month earlier, helped by a steep fall in gasoline prices. The decline provides some relief to consumers who were bearing the brunt of elevated fuel costs amid Iran-US conflict in the Middle East.

The core inflation, which excludes the highly volatile energy and food prices, remained flat in June, taking some pressure off the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates further. The annual core inflation rate stood at 2.6%.

"The index for energy fell 5.7 per cent in June after rising 3.9 per cent in May, 3.8 per cent in April, and 10.9 per cent in March. The energy index was the largest contributor to the monthly all-items decrease, more than offse...