July’s CPI Report Shows US Inflation Cooling — Critics Say ‘US Government’s Formula Understates the Actual Rise in Prices’

After last June’s inflation report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reflected a 9.1% year-over-year increase, July’s CPI data has come in lower with a year-over-year increase of 8.5%. Economists polled by media publications estimated that July’s CPI data would print 8.7%, however, July’s core CPI, the government’s broadest measure of inflation, remained the same as June.

CPI Report Shows Inflation in the US May Have Peaked, Stocks, Cryptos, and Precious Metals Jump Higher

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq, S&P 500, and NYSE indexes all jumped significantly higher in value after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published July’s inflation report. Additionally, precious metals and cryptocurrencies saw a rise on Wednesday as well, as bitcoin (BTC) jumped over 4% higher, gold increased by 0.35%, and silver jumped 1.43% in value against the U.S. dollar.

Inflation as measured by headline CPI increased 0.0 percent month-over-month in July, well below its elevated June monthly rate of 1.3 percent. Monthly core inflation in July fell to 0.3 percent. 1/ pic.twitter.com/6bVTZq7m1W

— Council of Economic Advisers (@WhiteHouseCEA) August 10, 2022

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for July 2022 said: “The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was unchanged in July on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 1.3 percent in June. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 8.5 percent before seasonal adjustment.” The inflation report adds:

The gasoline index fell 7.7 percent in July and offset increases in the food and shelter indexes, resulting in the all items index being unchanged over the month.

Bankrate’s chief financial analyst Greg McBride told Yahoo Finance reporter Alexandra Semenova that the gas price drop was good for the economy, but it doesn’t fix inflationary pressures. “The drop in gasoline prices has been very welcome, but that doesn’t solve the inflation problem,” McBride said. “Consumers are getting a break at the gas pump, but not at the grocery store.” Moreover, many people have issues with the way the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates CPI.

Truflation CEO Says True Inflation Is Running at 9.6% Today, Schiffgold Author Claims Government Formula Understates Real Inflation Numbers

Data from shadowstats.com’s alternative inflation charts show inflation is much higher than the reported numbers published by the U.S. government. The CEO of Truflation, Stefan Rust, says the country’s inflation figures are not accurate and he believes true inflation is running at 9.6% today.

The company’s Truflation Index indicates that at the time of writing, the rate is 9.61%, which is still down from the 10.5% the Truflation Index recorded in July. Further, it is still down from the 11.4% annual peak the Truflation Index recorded in March.

“First, it was transitory. Next, it was manageable. Now, it’s a problem the US is attempting to tackle with a whole new piece of legislation as inflation continues to run at scorching 40-year highs,” Rust said in emailed comments sent to Bitcoin.com News. “The latest data released today provides some welcome relief, with growth in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) slowing to 8.5% in the year to July thanks largely to falling fuel prices. Notably, though, month on month prices remained the same as increases in rent and food costs — which have the largest impact on poorer citizens — offset declining prices at the pump.” Rust continued:

This means Americans are still struggling to make ends meet as they watch the value of their money erode at over 8% per year. As bad as all this seems, however, the true inflation picture differs from the above. Today, the Truflation index is showing that US inflation is running at 9.6%. This is down from 10.5% in July, and an annual peak of 11.4% in March, reflecting the same downward trend that the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) figures suggest. However, it remains over 100 basis points higher than these official figures.

Schiffgold.com’s Michael Maharrey said on Wednesday that the latest CPI data was not the greatest and the government formula used to tally the numbers is understated. Maharrey and the economists at Peter Schiff’s blog believe the CPI is much higher. “It wasn’t all good news,” Maharrey stressed. “Food prices continued to skyrocket, rising 1.1% from June. Rents also rose.”

“And as I mention every time I talk about CPI, it’s even worse than these numbers suggest. This CPI uses a government formula that understates the actual rise in prices,” Maharrey added. “Based on the CPI formula used in the 1970s, CPI remains in the 17% range — a historically high number.”

U.S. president Joe Biden discussed the CPI data as well and remarked that new laws and semiconductors manufacturing based in America boosted the country’s economic activity. “Last year, one-third of core inflation was due to high prices for automobiles because of the shortage of semiconductors,” Biden said on Wednesday. “With the CHIPS and Science Law boosting our efforts to make semiconductors right here at home, America is back leading the way.”

What do you think about the CPI data for July? What do you think about the critics and statistics that say true inflation in the U.S. is much higher than what’s being reported? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.