The fresh data arrived roughly two weeks after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate another quarter of a percentage point.
Consumer prices rose 3.2% last month compared to a year ago, marking an uptick that reverses some of the progress achieved in the monthslong fight to bring inflation down to normal levels, government data showed. The data, however, outperformed economist expectations of a larger increase.
Inflation stands well below its peak last summer of over 9% but remains more than a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate.
Core inflation — a measure that strips out volatile food and energy prices — rose 4.7% in July compared to a year ago, in part because price increases for commodities like new vehicles and housing stand above the overall inflation rate.
Consumer prices increased a modest 0.2% in July compared to the previous month, which matched the month-over-month inflation rate in June, according to the data released on Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That reading suggests that the uptick recorded for the July data compared to a year ago arose in part from a decline in the inflation rate a year ago to which the fresh data was compared.
An increase in shelter prices accounted for more than 90% of the month-to-month price increases, the data showed. Food prices ticked up modestly in July compared to the previous month.
