CONSUMER PRICES STAY FLAT IN JUNE

WASHINGTON» Lower costs for gas, airline tickets, new and used cars and wireless mobile phone plans kept U.S. consumer prices flat in June, evidence that inflation remains muted.

The unchanged reading followed a drop of 0.1 percent in May, the Labor Department said Friday. Inflation has climbed just 1.6 percent from a year ago. That’s down sharply from February, when prices rose 2.7 percent from a year earlier.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices rose 0.1 percent in June and 1.7 percent from a year earlier.