The American price of everyday goods and services rose in July due to a spike in travel and restaurant demand. However, inflation was not as high as economists expected.Wednesday's report by the Labor Department showed that July's consumer price index increased 5.4% from one year ago. This was in line with June’s figure, matching the highest jump since August 2008.According to Dow Jones, the government reported that CPI rose 0.5% month-over-month. This is in line with consensus forecasts from economists.Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, increased by 0.3% last month. This was 0.3% less than the 0.4% forecasted increase, and much lower than June's 0.9% rise. Core inflation is now up 4.3% in the past year, slightly less than June's 4.5%.Core CPI is often regarded as a more reliable indicator by economists because it's immune to swings in food and petroleum prices.Inflation in certain areas of the economy which had experienced rapid price increases in spring saw a sharp decline in recent months. This helped to keep the headline numbers under control.After a rise of over 10% in the previous month, used car and truck prices rose quickly between April and June, as Americans sought to vacation. They increased just 0.2% in July.
