Inflation ticks down to 8.5%, bolstering hopes it might be cresting
by Zachary Halaschak, Economics Reporter |
| August 10, 2022 08:30 AM
Inflation slowed to 8.5% for the 12 months ending in July, according to the consumer price index, a welcome sign that price pressures might be peaking.
The much-anticipated numbers reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday revealed that while it ticked down, inflation is still going strong despite the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes and is near the worst it has been since the Great Inflation that helped bring President Ronald Reagan to office. June’s headline CPI reading clocked in at 9.1%.
The soaring inflation has eaten into President Joe Biden’s approval ratings as he and Democrats approach the midterm elections. Consumer prices have been rising fast since last August, especially for staples such as food and gas. In fact, until March’s CPI report, inflation had risen every month for eight months.
Wednesday’s CPI report comes as the central bank works to hike interest rates aggressively in order to dampen consumer demand and thus lower prices.
In July, following a two-day meeting, central bank officials announced that the Fed would increase its interest rate target by three-quarters of a percentage point. The central bank usually hikes rates by just a quarter of a percentage point, so the move was analogous to three concurrent rate hikes, which shows just how eager the Fed is to tame inflation.
Last month’s rate hike came after the Fed hiked rates by the same massive margin in June and conducted two other rate increases in March and May.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/inflation-ticks-down-to-8-5-bolstering-hopes-it-might-be-cresting