MNI BRIEF: US July CPI In Line; September Fed Cut On Track

MNI (WASHINGTON) - U.S. CPI rose 0.155% in July and core CPI added 0.165%, in line with Wall Street expectations and keeping the Federal Reserve on track for lowering interest rates next month. Over the past 12 months, headline CPI inflation dipped to 2.9% and core 3.2%, the lowest since March and April 2021, respectively. 

Shelter rose 0.4% in July, accounting for nearly 90% of the monthly increase in the headline index, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday. Energy prices were softer than expected, unchanged over the month after falling in the two previous months. Core goods prices fell 0.32% as the used car index lost 2.3%.   

Core services excluding housing costs, or supercore CPI, rebounded 0.207% last month after falling 0.052% the previous month, according to an MNI calculation. Its three-month moving average is 0.038%. 

Fed officials have been saying they need to see some more good data before voting for the first rate cut of the cycle. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: Fed Well Placed For Sept Rate Cut- Weinberg)