 Boosting the case for a Fed interest rate cut in September, the core consumer price index, with food and energy costs taken out, which economists see as a better indicator of underlying inflation, rose just a tenth of a point from May, the smallest advance since August 2021. On an annual basis, the core CPI rose 3.3%, also the slowest pace in more than three years. And for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the overall CPI slipped a tenth in June.