US consumer prices rise more than expected in July
US inflation rose faster than expected in July, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Labor Department.
Consumer price inflation increased 0.6% on the month, unchanged from June and higher than the 0.3% rise expected by analysts.
On the year, inflation rose 1% in July from 0.6% the month before and versus expectations of 0.8% growth.
Core inflation - which excludes volatile food and energy prices - rose 0.6% in July on the month following a 0.2% increase in June, and 1.6% on the year following 1.2% growth the previous month. Analysts had been expecting 0.2% and 1.1%, respectively.
Clothing prices rose 1.1% after a 1.7% increase in June, while car insurance costs posted a record 9.3% monthly jump following a 5.1% increase in June. Gasoline prices were up 5.6% and food prices fell 0.4%.
ING economist James Knightley said: "After yesterday’s firmer-than-anticipated PPI report there was going to be some upside threat, but the scale of the rise in the core measure is quite a surprise. However, we see this more as an unwinding of the strains caused by Covid-19 shutdowns rather than a signal there is a meaningful pick-up in medium-term price pressures."