NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Consumer prices rose slightly in the United States in July, the government said Friday, as inflation remained a distant threat in an economy struggling to emerge from recession.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index, which measures retail prices paid by consumers, rose 0.1 percent in July after rising 0.1 percent in June. Excluding food and energy prices, "core" CPI rose 0.2 percent after rising 0.1 percent in June. Economists expected a 0.2 percent rise in both CPI and core CPI, according to Briefing.com.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department said housing starts fell 2.7 percent in July after falling 3.6 percent in June.

U.S. stock market futures were little changed by the reports, trading lower and pointing to a negative opening on Wall Street.

The biggest gains in consumer prices were found in medical care and education, which jumped 0.7 percent, and energy, which jumped 0.4 percent. The price of clothing dropped a full 1.0 percent.

But the gain in prices was relatively small, as they have been for several months during and after a recession that likely began in March 2001. Without fear of inflation, the Federal Reserve was able to cut its target for short-term interest rates 11 times in 2001 to stimulate the economy by making borrowing cheaper.

And central bank policy makers have been able to leave rates at that low level throughout 2002 as the economy has struggled to overcome corporate accounting scandals and falling stock prices. The Fed decided this week to leave rates alone again, though they disappointed some on Wall Street who were hoping for a rate cut in response to some recent signs of economic weakness.