Research Brief: Inflation – August 2022

Inflation trend may be turning corner. The headline Consumer Price Index in July was up 8.5 percent compared to a year prior, a deceleration from the 9.1 percent year-over-year jump recorded in June. This slowdown was driven predominantly by a month-over-month decline in energy prices, led by a 7.7 percent drop in the gas price component of the index. The costs of other items, most notably food, continued to rise however. Setting aside energy and food, core CPI advanced 5.9 percent year-over-year in July, matching the pace set in June but below the 6.4 percent year-over-year increase reported in March. Stability in the core index paired with a smaller rise in the headline rate suggest that inflation may have peaked, likely a reflection of less impeded supply chains and tightening monetary policy.

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