U.S. inflation rose in July but at a slower pace than in June, a government report released Tuesday, August 12, showed. The monthly pace matched expectations, but underlying inflation pressures climbed more than anticipated from a year earlier.
The headline monthly inflation figure showed a 0.2% increase in U.S. consumer prices for July, in line with forecasts, after a 0.3% rise in June, according to the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key inflation gauge, measures what American consumers pay for a wide range of everyday goods and services, from eggs to energy.
Food prices overall were unchanged in July after a 0.3% rise in June. Grocery store prices slipped 0.1% after back-to-back 0.3% monthly increases, while restaurant prices advanced 0.3% following a 0.4% gain. Egg prices jumped 3.9% in July, reversing three straight declines of 7.4%, 2.7%, and 12.7%. They stood 16.4% above year-earlier levels.
Over the past year, food prices rose 2.9%, easing from 3% in June. Grocery prices climbed 2.2%, down from 2.4% a month earlier, while dining-out costs increased 3.9% after a 3.8% gain.
In other sectors, gasoline prices fell 2.2% in July after rising 1% in June. Compared to a year earlier, they were down 9.5%, extending June’s 8.3% annual decline.
The broader energy index, which includes gasoline, electricity, and fuel oil, fell 1.1% in July after a 0.9% gain in June. Over the past year, energy prices dropped 1.6%, following a 0.8% decline previously.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the rate of core consumer prices rose 0.3% in July, up from the previous 0.2% increase but in line with expectations.
Shelter costs rose 0.2% for a second month in a row, marking the 63rd consecutive monthly gain. Over the past year, shelter prices rose 3.7%, slightly below June’s 3.8% pace.
Annual shelter inflation has steadily eased from recent highs. For comparison, 12-month increases were:
- June 2025: 3.8%
- May 2025: 3.9%
- April 2025: 4.0%
- March 2025: 4.0%
- February 2025: 4.2%
- January 2025: 4.4%
- December 2024: 4.6%
- November 2024: 4.7%
- October 2024: 4.9%
- September 2024: 4.9%
- August 2024: 5.2%
- July 2024: 5.1%
- June 2024: 5.2%
- May 2024: 5.4%
- April 2024: 5.5%
- March 2024: 5.7%
- February 2024: 5.7%
- January 2024: 6.0%
- December 2023: 6.2%
- November 2023: 6.5%
- October 2023: 6.7%
- September 2023: 7.2%
- August 2023: 7.3%
- July 2023: 7.7%
- June 2023: 7.8%
- May 2023: 8.0%
- April 2023: 8.1%
- March 2023: 8.2% – the highest since June 1982
The shelter component of the CPI includes prices for items such as apartment rents, owners’ equivalent rent – a measure of what homeowners would pay to rent or earn from renting their property – lodging away from home like hotels and motels, and housing at schools.
In other key pricing categories:
- Clothing prices edged up 0.1% in July after a 0.4% gain in June and were 0.2% lower than a year earlier.
- New vehicle prices were unchanged after two straight 0.3% monthly declines, standing 0.4% higher year over year.
- Used car and truck prices rose 0.5% in July after a 0.7% drop in June and were 4.8% above year-earlier levels.
- Airline fares jumped 4% in July following a 0.1% dip in June and were 0.7% higher than a year earlier.
For the headline annual rate, inflation rose 2.7% over the 12 months ending in July, matching June’s pace. Most forecasts had called for a 2.8% increase.
For added perspective, inflation peaked at 9.1% during the 12-month period ending in June 2022. This was the fastest rate of inflation since November 1981. Additionally, until March 2023, inflation rates had remained at or above 6% for 17 consecutive months.
One-tenth higher than expected, core inflation rose 3.1% over the year through July, up from 2.9% in June. This core, "all items less food and energy" index, is one of the benchmark inflation rates monitored by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to guide the central bank in setting its key interest rate.
In September 2022, the annual core inflation rate at 6.6% was the highest since August 1982. Many economists consider the core reading as a better predictor for future inflation.
The following table of key inflation figures is for the last seven months through July, as published by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/cpi) on August 12, 2025. To index the data each month, the BLS monitors the prices of about 80,000 consumer goods and services from around the nation. All monthly and annual pricing changes are in percentages.
January 2024 to July 2025 Consumer Prices – Gains & Losses in Percent
(Seasonally Adjusted from Prior Month and Unadjusted 12-Month)
| Jan 2025 | Feb 2025 | May 2025 | Apr 2025 | May 2025 | June 2025 | July 2025 | 12 Month | |
| All items | 0.5 | 0.2 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 2.7 |
| Food | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 | -0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.9 |
| Food at home | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | -0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -0.1 | 2.2 |
| Food away from home | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 3.9 |
| Energy | 1.1 | 0.2 | -2.4 | 0.7 | -1.0 | 0.9 | -1.1 | -1.6 |
| Energy commodities | 1.9 | -0.9 | -6.1 | -0.2 | -2.4 | 1.0 | -1.9 | -9.0 |
| Gasoline (all types) | 1.8 | -1.0 | -6.3 | -0.1 | -2.6 | 1.0 | -2.2 | -9.5 |
| Fuel oil | 6.2 | 0.8 | -4.2 | -1.3 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.8 | -2.9 |
| Energy services | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.9 | -0.3 | 7.2 |
| Electricity | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | -0.1 | 5.5 |
| Utility (piped) gas service | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 | -1.0 | 0.5 | -0.9 | 13.8 |
| All items less food, energy | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 3.1 |
| Commodities less food, energy | 0.3 | 0.2 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.2 |
| New vehicles | 0.0 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | -0.3 | -0.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Used cars and trucks | 2.2 | 0.9 | -0.7 | -0.5 | -0.5 | -0.7 | 0.5 | 4.8 |
| Apparel | -1.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | -0.2 | -0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Medical care | 1.2 | 0.1 | -1.1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Services less energy | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 3.6 |
| Shelter | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 3.7 |
| Transportation | 1.8 | -0.8 | -1.4 | 0.1 | -0.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 3.5 |
| Medical care | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 4.3 |
The BLS releases inflation data around the middle of the month, covering consumer prices surveyed up to the previous month. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August and the latest annual period will be made public on September 11, 2025.
The CPI data is also used to calculate inflation rates and power this site’s U.S. Inflation Calculator, which displays the cumulative inflation and the change in the buying power of the U.S. dollar over time.
