On Wednesday morning, the Labor Department released its monthly report that can give insights into the way inflation is affecting Americans' everyday lives, in what's known as the CPI (consumer price index).
Here's what we know about July's report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS):
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said on Wednesday that the consumer price index (CPI) – a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost – increased 0.1% on a monthly basis and is up 3.4% from a year ago.
[...]
So-called core prices, which exclude volatile measurements of gasoline and groceries to better assess price growth trends, were up 0.2% from a month ago and are 2.5% higher year over year. The monthly figure represents a slight uptick after price growth was flat in June, while the annual figure is slightly cooler than last month's 2.6% reading.
This gives a brief breakdown on prices in the grocery aisles across the country in July:
The meats, poultry and fish index declined 0.7% on a monthly basis and is up 4.5% from a year ago. Much of that increase has been driven by beef and veal prices, which are up 9.4% in the last year after a 0.8% decline in July. Egg prices fell 0.5% on a monthly basis and are down 25.7% from a year ago as flocks continue to stabilize after an avian flu outbreak.
The fruits and vegetables index fell 0.1% for the month and is up 5.1% from a year ago. Lettuce prices fell 16.4% in July amid a cyclospora outbreak, but remain up 7.5% from a year ago.
But what about that status of energy prices besides the soaring prices at the pump?
Energy prices fell 1.5% on a monthly basis in July, but remain up 14.7% from a year ago. That follows a decline of 5.7% in June, when energy prices were easing quickly.
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Financial markets analyst and economist John Lonski praised the core inflation number reported on Wednesday by the BLS, saying during a panel discussion on Fox Business' Varney & Co. that it showed a trend of inflation "not spreading" beyond the energy sector:
John Lonski: "It is good news! And I could not help but note that the annual rate of core CPI inflation... 2.5% in July. That’s back to where it was prior to the start of the Iran conflict." https://t.co/eFbzhTvMlO pic.twitter.com/rb1daqOqMe
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 12, 2026
It's something that White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai also noted to Newsmax, when reacting to the inflation report later on Wednesday:
.@KushDesai47: "I think we're seeing more evidence that @POTUS' long-term economic agenda is paying dividends for the American people. We saw prescription drugs continue to precipitously fall thanks to the President's Most Favored Nation drug pricing deals—thanks to TrumpRx...… pic.twitter.com/1lGK8LRd7l
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 12, 2026
.@KushDesai47: "I think we're seeing more evidence that @POTUS' long-term economic agenda is paying dividends for the American people. We saw prescription drugs continue to precipitously fall thanks to the President's Most Favored Nation drug pricing deals—thanks to TrumpRx... you saw Auto insurance prices continue to decline thanks to President Trump getting dangerous illegal aliens off of our streets. You saw beef prices finally cool down and actually decline last month... so again, President Trump’s economic agenda continues to deliver, and today’s CPI report proves just that."
"When you look at the last three months of CPI inflation reports and annualize them," Desai continued, "we're actually looking at inflation...that's well below the Fed's 2 percent target rate," adding that while "[the White House recognizes] that oil and gas prices are higher than ideal, we're not seeing that affecting the rest of the economy."
We'll see if the Federal Reserve sees that trend as part of its decision on interest rates at the Sept. meeting.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.
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