US consumer prices rise 3.4% in July, slowing for second straight month
Macro
The US Labor Department announced on the 12th that the consumer price index for July rose 3.4% from a year earlier, with the pace of increase slowing for a second consecutive month from 3.5% in June. The core index, which excludes volatile food and energy, rose 2.5%, narrowing from the previous month, and both figures matched market expectations. Amid slowing employment and easing inflation, market expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its September policy meeting have receded. By category, gasoline rose 24.6% and fuel oil rose 39.1%, but their rates of increase slowed from the previous month.
