US consumer inflation annually rises 2.9% in July, slowest increase since March 2021

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Consumer inflation in the US annually rose 2.9% in July, marking the slowest annual increase since March 2021, according to data released Wednesday.

The consumer price index (CPI), which measures changes in the prices of goods and services from a consumer's perspective, came lower than market estimates of a 3% gain, and slowed down from a year-on-year increase of 3% recorded in June.

The figure is also a sharp decline from the 9.1% annual gain recorded in July 2022, which was the highest since November 1981.

On a monthly basis, CPI showed an increase of 0.2% in July, and came in line with market expectations.

That figure, however, showed an acceleration from June when it recorded a monthly decline of 0.1%.

"The index for shelter rose 0.4 percent in July, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the monthly increase in the all items index," the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a statement.

"The energy index was unchanged over the month, after declining in the two preceding months," it added. "The index for food increased 0.2 percent in July, as it did in June."

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, gained just 0.2% in July from the previous month, also coming in line with market estimates, but slightly gaining pace from the 0.1% increase in June.

Annually, core CPI climbed 3.2% in July, marking the smallest annual increase since April 2021, also coming in line with expectations, and decelerating from a 3.3% year-on-year gain recorded in June.