July CPI Rises 0.1 Percent; Annual Inflation Slows to 3.4 Percent

The full July print, not one row

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on August 12, 2026, that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers rose 0.1 percent in July on a seasonally adjusted basis after falling 0.4 percent in June (BLS, Consumer Price Index Summary, July 2026, USDL-26-1378). Over the 12 months ending July the all items index rose 3.4 percent, after rising 3.5 percent for the 12 months ending June. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in July and 2.5 percent over the year, following a 2.6 percent annual core reading for the year ending June (BLS, July 2026).

That is a slower annual pace than June, not a claim that prices fell overall. Prices are still higher than a year earlier. They are rising more slowly than they were. Reading only the gloomiest line of a release is how desks invent a crisis from a tenth of a point. Reading only the victory line is how desks invent a cure. The full table is the American habit worth keeping.

Shelter, food, and energy on the same page

Shelter rose 0.1 percent in July and accounted for roughly two thirds of the monthly all items increase (BLS, July 2026). Food also rose 0.1 percent on the month, with food away from home up 0.3 percent. Energy fell 1.5 percent in July after a 5.7 percent drop in June. Gasoline fell 2.9 percent on the month. Natural gas rose 0.7 percent. Electricity rose 0.1 percent (BLS, July 2026).

The annual energy story is different from the monthly one. Energy is up 14.7 percent over the 12 months ending July, with gasoline up 24.6 percent over the same span. Food is up 3.0 percent over the year. Food at home is up 2.7 percent. Food away from home is up 3.4 percent (BLS, July 2026). Households feel the gas pump and the grocery ticket at the same time the monthly index cools. Both facts are true. Both belong in the same paragraph.

What core inflation is measuring

Core CPI, all items less food and energy, rose 0.2 percent in July after a flat June reading. Medical care rose 0.4 percent. Airline fares rose 2.2 percent. Communication rose 0.6 percent. Education rose 0.5 percent. Recreation rose 0.2 percent. Motor vehicle insurance fell 0.3 percent after a 2.0 percent drop in June (BLS, July 2026). Over 12 months, core is up 2.5 percent. Shelter is up 3.2 percent. Airline fares are up 25.5 percent year over year (BLS, July 2026).

Wage growth context matters when newsrooms compare paychecks to prices. Recent BLS employment figures put average hourly earnings near 3.2 percent year over year in the July jobs package, below the 3.4 percent all items CPI pace (NBC News, July 2026 CPI coverage; BLS Employment Situation). That gap is real for workers. It is also one month in a multi year disinflation path from the post pandemic peak. When US Political Rank grades presidents by economic record, it uses full term averages of growth and inflation, not a single monthly print.

How to place CPI next to the midterm instruments

CPI is not a race rating. Cook's House board after August 13 still shows 19 Toss Ups, 182 Solid Republican seats, and 184 Solid Democratic seats (Cook Political Report, August 13, 2026). CPI is not a crime series. The FBI's 2025 estimates released into the midterm conversation on August 14 show violent crime down 9.3 percent and murder down 18.1 percent (FBI; AP, August 14, 2026). CPI is the price ledger. Voters will weigh it against jobs, wages, safety, and the candidates on their ballots.

The next CPI release for August 2026 is scheduled for September 11, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern (BLS, July 2026 release note). Until then the July table is the last full national consumer price print before Labor Day. The honest read is simple. Monthly prices ticked up a tenth of a percent. Annual inflation cooled from 3.5 to 3.4 percent. Core cooled from 2.6 to 2.5 percent. Energy fell on the month and remains elevated on the year. That is the receipt. The November count will tell whether voters treat it as progress, as unfinished business, or as one more number on a crowded kitchen table.