TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — New numbers are in. The July inflation report brought better-than-expected results.
The nation’s inflation rate slowed in July as overall consumer prices were 8.5%. It’s still historically high, but an improvement from June’s 9.1% inflation rate.
Financial expert Derrick Kinney told WFAA that economists and Wall Street celebrated on Wednesday.
“This was the sigh of relief that people on Wall Street have been waiting for… for months,” Kinney said.
While the nation’s inflation rate cooled, that wasn’t the case for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area.
According to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Wednesday, the DFW region’s inflation rate moved higher with a yearly increase of 9.4% in July. It’s an increase from May’s consumer price index of 9.1%.
Across DFW, consumers are paying a lot more for basic necessities.
The BLS reported July’s food costs (which include at-home meals and dining out), were up 13% from a year ago. Overall, electricity costs rose 47% from last year, and housing was up 10% from the same time in 2021.
The good news out of North Texas? Fuel prices dropped 13% between June and July. Domestic airfare is expected to drop by around 40% this fall, according to data from travel booking platform Hopper.
“The bottom line is, prices are still high,” Kinney said. “People will feel no relief until inflation dramatically drops, which is not likely to happen anytime soon.”
Families in North Texas and beyond are still feeling the pinch.
Ella Youngman, a Bedford parent, spent $80 on school supplies for her two sons. She walked out with a few binders and pencils.
“It’s very expensive,” Youngman said.
This year, her children will share supplies and re-use notebooks from the last school year.
She’s cutting back in several ways to try to stay afloat.
“We used to love eating out on the weekends, but now we try to eat more at home,” Youngman said.
Kinney anticipates the federal reserve will remain vigilant in terms of raising rates to avoid a recession.
“Inflation appears to have peaked from today to a year ago, but we’ll have to monitor this on a month by month basis,” Kinney said. "The fed wants to see a consistent pattern of a reduction in inflation."