It has been almost five months since the Federal Reserve turned its full attention and force of action toward fighting inflation. We may see if it’s having any material effect with the July inflation data released in the week ahead.
There are two versions of the inflation figures: wholesale inflation and consumer inflation. The consumer inflation is what gets all the attention.
It June, fueled by high gasoline and food prices, consumer inflation was 9.1% higher than a year earlier. It was the latest in a string of 40-year high records this year. Russia’s war in Ukraine has pushed up energy and food prices. And there is nothing the U.S. Federal Reserve can do about the war, and little it can directly do to bring down food and fuel costs.
