US consumer inflation slows in July as energy prices briefly retreat

United States consumer inflation has slowed in July amid a short retreat in energy prices and hopes that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen.Shipping continues to be severely disrupted since Iran established a maritime “toll booth” in the strait shortly after the US and Israel launched a war against the country in late February.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Paramount CEO may remove operations from California over stalled mergerlist 2 of 4Oil prices rise as attacks dent hopes for Strait of Hormuz reopeninglist 3 of 4Why have several nations raised red flags over Indian farm exports?list 4 of 4Taiwan’s Foxconn reports 35 percent rise in profit on AI demandend of listConsumer inflation rose by 0.1 percent compared with this time last month but was 3.4 percent higher than this time a year ago, according to data released by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Wednesday.Inflation has been largely driven by fuel prices, which, despite a temporary reprieve, are rising. While energy prices declined 1.5 percent from this time last month, they are up 14.7 percent for the year.“Energy prices have gone down in July because people thought perhaps the block...