08/29/2025

Key U.S. Inflation Gauge Holds Mostly Steady

Meanwhile, core inflation ticks higher

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge mostly held steady last month despite President Donald Trump's broad-based tariffs, but a measure of underlying inflation increased.

Prices rose 2.6 percent in July compared with a year ago, the Commerce Department said Friday, the same annual increase as in June. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices rose 2.9 percent from a year earlier, up from 2.8 percent in the previous month and the highest since February.

The figures illustrate why many officials at the Federal Reserve have been reluctant to cut their key interest rate. While inflation is much lower than the roughly 7 percent peak it reached three years ago, it is still running noticeably above the Fed's 2 percent target.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Associated Press.