A tense July inflation report came in exactly as economists expected it would on Wednesday, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices rose 0.1% in July and 3.4% over the past 12 months.
Core CPI, which takes out food and energy, rose 0.2% on the month and 2.5% on the year, the slowest annual pace since the post-pandemic surge.
The summer has provided relief to Spring’s energy shock. The energy index dropped 1.5% in July after a 5.7% decline in June, with gasoline down 2.9% for the month. Yet energy prices remain 14.7% higher than a year ago, and gasoline 24.6% higher after a war with Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz.
