By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-12 14:31:11 | Updated at 2026-08-12 17:51:46
4 hours ago
Consumer prices crept slightly higher in July, leaving Americans stuck with stubbornly high inflation that has pushed up the cost of everything from groceries to home loans.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that consumer prices rose by 0.1 percent in July month over month, putting the annual CPI inflation rate at 3.4 percent, down a hair from the 3.5 percent figure in June.
'Inflation is still drifting in the right direction, which is a small relief given the uncertain geopolitical situation,' Nic Puckrin, markets expert and former Goldman Sachs analyst, told the Daily Mail.
The inflation data is cold comfort after the dismal July jobs report out last week, showing that the economy created nearly 100,000 fewer jobs over the prior two months thanks to revisions.
The national average gas price is back above $4.00 a gallon - up from $3.00 before the war started - according to AAA data, as the stop-and-start conflict in the Middle East shows no sign of abating.
According to GasBuddy chief analyst Patrick De Haan, this is the highest price for gasoline ever seen in the US this late in the year, reflecting the continued pressure on the economy from the Iran war.
Apart from energy prices, the boom in AI data center construction has driven up demand - and prices - for a range of materials essential across the economy, from memory chips to building materials.
With inflation not cooling off faster and the jobs market looking bad, the Federal Reserve will be faced with hard choices on rates at its next meeting in September.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that consumer prices rose by 0.1 percent in July month over month, putting the annual CPI inflation rate at 3.4 percent
'Last week showed that the labor market is cracking and that puts the Fed in a difficult bind,' Puckrin told us.
'It can’t cut to save the jobs market without pouring fuel on the inflation fire, and if it hikes to tame prices it risks pushing the jobs market over the edge.'
A deeper look into the data shows more troubling signs, with prices for medical care, airline tickets, communication services and recreation all increasing slightly in July.
Gasoline prices fell 2.9 percent in the month, but that was during the hopeful ceasefire phase of the Iran conflict, before hostilities escalated - again.
One bright spot was grocery prices, which declined slightly over the month thanks to lower prices for fish, poultry, meat and eggs.
