The U.S. annual inflation was 8.5 percent in July, down from 9.1 percent in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The market had anticipated a reading of 8.7 percent.
The core inflation rate, which eliminates the volatile food and energy sector, stayed unchanged at 5.9 percent last month. Economists expected core inflation to rise to 6.1 percent.
On a monthly basis, the CPI was flat, and the core CPI edged up 0.3 percent.
Despite the notable decline in the headline print, everything was still up from the same time a year ago as inflation remained at a 40-year high. Food prices advanced 10.9 percent, energy prices climbed to 32.9 percent, new vehicles rose 10.4 percent, used cars and trucks jumped 6.6 percent, and apparel rose 5.1 percent….