Granted the Federal Reserve watches the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index to measure inflation, but the big jump in the July Consumer Price Index should remove the last doubts (if any remain) about a September interest rate increase from the Fed.
The headline CPI gained 0.2% in July. That pushed the headline CPI rate to 2.9% over the last 12 months.
The core CPI, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, gained 0.2% in the month. That brought the core CPI rate to 2.4% over the last 12-month period. That’s the highest core inflation rate since September 2008.
The Fed’s inflation target is 2%.
