The US economy saw a slowdown in inflation in July, with consumer prices rising 3.4% from a year ago, down slightly from 3.5% in June. However, inflation is still higher than before the Iran war began in February, when it was 2.4%. On a monthly basis, prices rose just 0.1% from June to July.
Economic Impact
Americans unexpectedly cut their spending in July as a boost from government tax refunds faded. Retail sales slipped 0.6% last month, the biggest drop since May 2025. The decrease in spending could have an impact on the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates.
The Labor Department reported that 209,000 people filed jobless claims last week, up from a revised 200,000 the week before. The four-week average of applications was unchanged at 199,000. Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and they’ve been at a historically low range of around 200,000 to 230,000 a week for the past year.
Housing Market
Sales of previously occupied US homes slowed again in July as record prices and the highest mortgage rates in a year prove to be an insurmountable hurdle for many prospective buyers. Existing home sales fell 1.7% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million units.
Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.
