Updated · thepeopleseconomist.substack.com · Aug 12
U.S. July CPI Shows Energy Up 24.7% as Low-Income Households Still Trail
Updated
Updated · thepeopleseconomist.substack.com · Aug 12
U.S. July CPI Shows Energy Up 24.7% as Low-Income Households Still Trail
3 articles · Updated · thepeopleseconomist.substack.com · Aug 12
Summary
Energy commodities rose 24.7% year over year in July and gasoline climbed 24.6%, outpacing average hourly earnings growth of 3.2% even as core CPI cooled to 2.5%.
That gap matters most for lower-income households, which spend about 50.8% of income on food and energy, leaving essential costs still ahead of recent wage gains.
BLS data show lower-income workers' wages rose 5.5% in Q2, faster than the top 20%'s 1.5%, but the latest CPI suggests that catch-up remains incomplete.
Bank spending data had pointed to stronger consumer resilience, yet July card spending growth slowed and one-off boosts from tax refunds, tariff repayments and World Cup activity may fade.
The report undercuts claims that a post-pandemic "K-shaped" economy has fully become a "C-shaped" recovery, especially with U.S.-Iran-linked energy pressure likely to feed into coming inflation readings.