Washington - Consumer prices in the United States were unchanged in the month of July, the Labour Department said Friday.

The figure compared to a 0.7-per-cent increase in June and signalled that fears of high inflation have yet to materialize as the US economy recovers from a deep recession.

Excluding more volatile food and energy prices, inflation was 0.1 per cent on the month. Both figures were in line with economists' forecasts.

Consumer prices have dipped 2.1 per cent in the past 12 months, the sharpest decline in more than five decades. The US has been mired since December 2007 in its longest recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The Federal Reserve has kept interest rates at a record low range of 0-0.25 per cent since December in a bid to revive the economy, and has said it expects inflation to remain low in the near future.(dpa)