The CPI rose 0.5% in June after inching up 0.1% in May. The core CPI, excluding food and energy, was up 0.2% in both June and May.
“Import prices likely rose in July following four consecutive monthly declines,” David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds, said in a note. “However, a year-over-year decline of roughly 1.6% should highlight the benefit the U.S. economy has derived from a higher dollar and falling commodity prices over the last year. Core CPI, which is much less affected by outside forces, should post a 1.7% year-over-year gain, roughly the same as in each of the last four months, suggesting that, for now, inflation pressures are neither rising nor falling.”
The Fed has set an inflation target of 2%, and the personal consumption expenditure deflator, the central bank’s preferred guage, was up 1.3% in June year-over-year, Bloomberg reports. [Bill Gross Bullish on TIPS, ETFs as Fed Aims for Higher Inflation]
iShares TIPS Bond ETF
For more information on Treasury inflation protected securities, visit our TIPS category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.
Full disclosure: Tom Lydon’s clients own TIP.