U.S. inflation fell to 3% in June, an encouraging sign for the Federal Reserve as it debates how quickly to cut interest rates from a 23-year high. The year-on-year increase in the CPI in June was lower than economists' expectations of 3.1% and compared with 3.3% in May. The Fed, meanwhile, is looking for further evidence that U.S. price pressures are easing. The Fed kept its benchmark rate in a range of 5.25-5.5%, the highest since 2001, despite market expectations earlier this year that the central bank would cut rates as many as seven times by 2024. But Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told U.S. lawmakers this week that the labor market is showing signs of cooling and officials are concerned that keeping interest rates too high for too long would squeeze the economy. He added that decisions would be made on a "meeting-by-meeting" basis.