Bringing down high price inflation is no easy task. And Thursday’s numbers from the federal government show just how challenging it is. A look at where and why consumers are still feeling the squeeze
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00:00 Turning now to the economy, bringing down high price inflation is no easy task and
00:05 today's numbers from the federal government show just how challenging it
00:08 is. Karen Kaifa is in Washington with a look at where and why consumers are
00:12 still feeling the squeeze. Economists not panicking about a slight uptick in
00:18 inflation last month, acknowledging that once it seeps into the economy it is
00:22 really hard to get it back down and certain areas remain stickier than
00:26 others. A bump along the Federal Reserve's road to a target inflation
00:32 rate of 2%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday the consumer
00:35 price index rose 3.2% year-over-year in July, its first annual uptick in 13
00:41 months. Economists say there's more to that year-over-year figure, which is a
00:45 far cry from a 40-year high of 9.1% hit in June 2022. Well it's not quite
00:51 mission accomplished yet, but a significant progress on the inflation
00:57 front has been made. Housing costs remain stubborn, up 7.7% from one year
01:02 ago and pushing the overall annual index higher. The report said shelter costs
01:06 accounted for the bulk of a month-to-month increase in overall
01:09 consumer prices of 0.2%. With the housing market still coming down from
01:13 its screaming pandemic era highs and feeling the pressure of the Federal
01:17 Reserve's interest rate hikes to curb inflation, economists like Sung Won
01:21 Son of Loyola Marymount University expect a turnaround in shelter costs,
01:25 especially the rental market ahead. Sooner or later we will see rents
01:30 declining and that's going to bring down the inflation rate quite a bit.
01:35 Energy and food also saw slight upticks from June to July. Items like beef,
01:39 apples and coffee cost more, eggs, chicken and milk a little bit less. And
01:43 airline fares and used cars and trucks were among other areas that saw
01:47 decreases. The Federal Reserve will get another inflation report in mid
01:52 September. They'll also get another read on the jobs market before they
01:55 make their next decision on interest rates on September 20th. In Washington,
01:59 I'm Karen Kafa.