Annual U.S. consumer inflation rises to 3.2% in July, from 3% gain in June

Annual consumer inflation in the U.S. came in at 3.2% in July, accelerating from the previous month's figure of 3%, according to official figures released Thursday.

The consumer price index (CPI), which measures changes in the prices of goods and services from a consumer's perspective, came below market estimates of 3.3%.

The figure is an increase from the 3% gain in June, which was the smallest 12-month increase since the period ending March 2021.

It is, however, still a sharp decline from last June's 9.1% yearly gain — the largest since November 1981.

On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.2% in July from the previous month, coming in line with market expectations, following a 0.2% gain in June.

"The food index increased 0.2 percent in July after increasing 0.1 percent the previous month," said a Labor Department statement. "The energy index rose 0.1 percent in July as the major energy component indexes were mixed."

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, gained 0.2% in July from the previous month, also coming in line with market expectations, while the June reading was unrevised at 0.2%.

Annually, core CPI rose 4.7% in July, lower than the market expectation of 4.8%, after it rose 4.8% in June year-on-year.

"The energy index decreased 12.5 percent for the 12 months ending July, and the food index increased 4.9 percent over the last year," said the statement.

After the figures' release, President Joe Biden said annual inflation had declined by around two-thirds since last summer, with inflation outside of food and energy falling to its lowest level in any three-month period since September 2021.

"We've made this progress while maintaining the broad strength of our economy," a White House statement quoted Biden as saying.

"Unemployment remains near record lows, a higher share of working age Americans are working now than in 20 years, real wages for the average American worker are growing and are higher than they were before the pandemic—with lower wage workers seeing the largest gains," he added.