The annualized U.S. inflation rate for the month of July remained unchanged from last month at 2.7 percent, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Tuesday. Lower gasoline prices helped to hold costs for Americans down, while car parts, used cars, and dairy products saw significant price hikes.
Core inflation, which strips out price fluctuations from the volatile food and energy categories, ticked up to 3.1 percent, an effect that some economists argue is due to businesses passing on price increases from President Donald Trump’s new tariffs.
The inflation rate has been a major flashpoint between the Federal Reserve and the Trump administration. Trump has urged Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates to stimulate job creation. Powell and the Federal Reserve Board have declined to make any adjustment to the federal funds rate, noting that inflation has yet to come down to the central bank’s 2 percent target rate.
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