SFS Insights: Inflation Continued To Retreat In July
- The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 2.9% over the prior year in July, down from June's 3% annual gain in prices. On a "core" basis, which strips out the more volatile costs of food and gas, prices in July climbed 3.2% over last year — down from 3.3% in June. That was the smallest increase since April 2021.
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell made it clear at the end of last month that a cut in September was “on the table” as long as the data supported it. He and other policymakers have said they want to be sure that inflation is in fact moving “sustainably” down to their 2% goal.
- The Fed will have two more important datasets to consider before meeting on Sept. 17-18 in Washington, D.C. One is a reading from the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, on Aug. 30, and the second is a jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Sept. 6.
