'Goose egg!': CNBC anchor stunned by largest US inflation decline in over 6 years — is Trump's plan working?

Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.

The cost of living in America has risen sharply in recent years. But the latest consumer price report offered an unexpectedly encouraging sign that inflationary pressures may finally be easing.

That became clear on CNBC, where anchor Rick Santelli reacted to the numbers in real time.

Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one

JPMorgan still sees gold hitting $5,000/oz by Q4 — and savvy investors are protecting their wealth with a tax-advantaged Gold IRA. Learn more with a free guide from Priority Gold

The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028 — and experts say most people won't act in time. What to do before the window closes

"Here we go — this is our June release of the consumer price index, expecting a headline negative number to be negative one-tenth of a percent. This is four times more negative!" Santelli exclaimed (1) as he read through the Bureau of Labor Statistics update.

"Minus four-tenths of a percent, that would be the biggest negative drop we've seen since [April 2020] — since basically COVID timing."

The headline consumer price index fell 0.4% from May to June, marking its largest one-month decline in more than six years (2). The energy index, which plunged 5.7% during the month, was the biggest contributor to the drop.

But what appeared to surprise Santelli even more was the core inflation reading, which excludes volatile food and energy prices.

"If we look at the CPI month-over-month on the core, also under expectations — comes in at goose egg! Zero," he said, forming a large zero with his hand. "Zero would be the smallest amount, it would equal Jan of 2021."

The better-than-expected June numbers also prompted Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, to take aim at the economists who had underestimated the decline.

"If you look at Bloomberg, they surveyed 67 economists and 67 economists got it wrong because they didn't understand that it wasn't just about energy, it's about these other things President Trump is doing to cut costs," Hassett told Fox News (3).

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a much smaller 0.1% decline in CPI.

Hassett did not mince words, calling it "absolutely the best inflation report we have seen in six years."

Still, one strong monthly report does not mean America's cost-of-living crisis is over.

Despite the larger-than-expected decline from May, consumer prices remained 3.5% higher than they were a year earlier — a point viewers were quick to emphasize. The top comment on CNBC's YouTube clip read: "Remember 3.5% is awful."