The United States reported this Wednesday that inflation for July was 8.5% at the annual rate, a level lower than the 9.1% of the previous month, mainly due to the drop in gasoline prices.
The rise in prices is also lower than expected by the market.
The year-on-year core CPI -a price index that excludes fresh food and energy due to its high volatility- rose by 5.9%, the same variation as that experienced in June. In its monthly comparison, the core component rose 0.3 monthly.
Analysts had forecast that the underlying rate would rise 6.1% annually during July, which is why the figure is below market expectations.
Energy prices fell 4.6% overall and gasoline fell 7.7%. This offset a 1.1% monthly increase in food prices and a 0.5% increase in housing costs.
Investors immediately reduced bets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 75 basis points for the third consecutive time at its meeting on September 20-21, and considered that the US central bank could opt for half a percentage point.
“It is not yet the significant decline in inflation that the Fed is seeking. But it is a start and we expect to see broader signs of easing in price pressures in the coming months,” said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital. Economics.
Consumer prices in the United States have risen due to a number of factors, including problems with global supply chains, massive government stimulus from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
With information from Reuters.
