Treasury Secretary Bessent says core inflation is cooling, and the Fed should take note

Scott Bessent has a message for anyone worried about inflation: look past the headlines. The US Treasury Secretary, confirmed to his role in January 2025, has been making the rounds arguing that core inflation, the kind that strips out volatile energy prices, is moving in the right direction. His remarks come as broader economic anxieties swirl around geopolitical tensions and energy market volatility. Bessent’s position, stated plainly at a cabinet meeting and in a Fox Business interview, is that the noise in headline inflation numbers is just that: noise. What the numbers actually show US core consumer price index, which excludes both food and energy, fell to 2.6% year-over-year in June 2026, down from 2.9% in May 2026. That is a meaningful move in a single month, and it came in below what markets were expecting. Bessent has also pointed to service inflation as a category to watch, noting it is also on a downward trajectory. When service inflation starts declining, it usually signals something more durable than a one-month blip. The Treasury Secretary has been explicit: he expects core measures to continue easing, even with external pressures, including tensions related to Iran, ...