WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. import prices barely rose in July, extending the flow of tame inflation readings that have bolstered financial market expectations for an interest rate cut next month.

Import prices edged up 0.1% last month amid a modest rebound in the cost of energy products after being unchanged in June, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected import prices, which exclude tariffs, to slip 0.1%.

In the 12 months through July, import prices increased 1.6% after rising 1.5% in June. The report followed news this week of mild increases in consumer and producer prices in July, which strengthened expectations for a September 25 basis point interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve.