WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge ticked higher last month in a sign that President Donald Trump’s broad-based tariffs are starting to lift prices for many goods.

Prices rose 2.6 percent in June compared with a year ago, the Commerce Department said, up from an annual pace of 2.4 percent in May. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices rose 2.8 percent in the past year, the same as the previous month, which was revised higher. The figures are above the Fed’s 2 percent goal.

The uptick in prices helps explain the central bank’s reluctance to cut its key interest rate, despite repeated demands from Trump that it do so. Last week, the Fed left its key rate unchanged at 4.3 percent, and Chair Jerome Powell suggested it could take months for the central bank to determine whether the import duties will cause just a one-time increase in prices or a more persistent increase in inflation.

On a monthly basis, prices ticked up 0.3 percent from May to June, while core prices also rose 0.3 percent. Both figures are higher than the 2 percent target.