July Inflation Report Set for Aug. 12 After June Consumer Prices Fell 0.4%

The next major national inflation reading is scheduled for Aug. 12, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the July 2026 Consumer Price Index at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.

The report will provide the first official look at whether the price trends recorded in June continued into July. As of Aug. 6, the July figures were not yet available. The BLS lists Aug. 12 as the scheduled release date, although release schedules can change.

The data will be closely watched by households tracking everyday costs and by financial markets and policymakers assessing the path of inflation. The release will also shape expectations about Federal Reserve policy, but the available information does not establish how the July figures will affect a future interest-rate decision.

What the June report showed

The latest available CPI report, released July 14, showed that the all-items index fell 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis from May to June. That monthly decline did not mean prices broadly returned to earlier levels or that annual inflation disappeared. The all-items index was still 3.5% higher in June than it was 12 months earlier.

Gasoline was identified as a major contributor to the monthly decline. That makes the July report particularly important for understanding whether the June movement reflected a continuing pattern or a change in a category that can affect the overall index.

The measure that excludes food and energy was unchanged in June from May on a seasonally adjusted basis. Over the 12 months ending in June, core CPI rose 2.6%.

Headline CPI includes all items measured by the index, while the food-and-energy-excluded measure is commonly used to examine underlying price movement without those categories. The June results therefore presented two different signals: a monthly fall in the overall index, alongside continued annual increases in both headline and core prices.

Why the July release matters

CPI is a national statistical release covering consumer prices paid by urban consumers across the United States. Its results give readers a broad measure of how prices are changing, even though individual households may experience different costs depending on what they buy.

For households, the July report will help clarify whether the June monthly decline was followed by another decrease, a rebound or a more limited change. The annual figures will also show whether the pace of price increases remains above the June levels of 3.5% for headline CPI and 2.6% for core CPI.

For the Federal Reserve, inflation data are part of the information considered when officials evaluate economic conditions and monetary policy. The scheduled CPI release is a significant upcoming data point, but it is not itself a rate decision and does not determine what the central bank will do next.

Other dates on the federal calendar

The Federal Reserve’s August calendar lists a consumer-credit release for Aug. 7, five days before the July CPI report. It also lists publication on Aug. 19 of the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee meeting held July 28-29.

Those dates will add to the sequence of economic information available around the inflation release. The CPI report remains the next scheduled major inflation reading, and its figures will be reported only after the BLS publishes them officially.

Until then, the June data are the latest verified national inflation figures: headline prices fell 0.4% month to month, while annual headline inflation remained at 3.5%; core prices were flat monthly and up 2.6% over the year.