60% Expect June Inflation Data Will Drop, But Most See Costs Still Rising

Economists and experts expect June inflation to come in lower than past months when the Consumer Price Index is reported on Thursday.

While inflation is dropping in recent reports, consumers continue to see higher costs than in past months and years.

What Happened: Wall Street economists expect headline inflation to decline from 3.3% in May to 3.1% in June, year-over-year.

Benzinga recently polled its readers to see where they stand on inflation expectations and how rising costs are impacted them.

"With Consumer Price Index inflation falling since April, will Thursday's CPI report show a drop or increase in June," Benzinga asked.

The results were:

• Inflation rose: 41%
• Inflation fell: 59%

Benzinga also asked if consumers feel that inflation has decreased or increased on the items they've purchased in the past month.

Sixty percent said they feel the costs of goods they've bought have risen in the past month, while 40% said that the price of items have decreased.

The poll also took a look at which items may impact how consumers feel about inflation. Benzinga asked if these specific items changed how they feel about inflation. Here are the results of the percent who said yes, with multiple options allowed:

• Housing: 43%
• Food and Beverage (groceries, dining out): 65%
• Energy (gas, fuel oil, electricity, natural gas): 41%
• Transportation (new and used automobiles, public transportation): 35%
• Medical Care (medical, prescriptions, hospital visits): 37%
• Apparel (clothing, footwear, accessories): 41%

The poll found that food and beverage is the sector that consumers are seeing the biggest impact from inflation. Sixty-five percent said the cost of groceries and dining out has changed how they feel about inflation.

Ranking second was housing and ranking third was energy costs and apparel.

Read Also: Powell Says Labor Market ‘Strong, Not Overheated’: Fed Chair Awaits ‘Right Moment’ To Cut Interest Rates

Why It's Important: Thursday's CPI report is widely anticipated and could have an impact on whether the Federal Reserve will cut rates.

The Federal Reserve will hold their next monetary policy committee meeting on July 30 and July 31.

A goal of 2% inflation has been the standard for the Federal Reserve as it looks to fight inflation.

The poll from consumers shows that inflation is expected to continue showing declines in Thursday's report, which could lead to the Federal Reserve having more confidence in cutting rates.

The study was conducted by Benzinga on July 9 and July 10 and included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older. Opting into the survey was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents. The study reflects results from 90 adults.

Read Next:

• If June Inflation Report Is ‘Another Confidence Builder,’ Fed Rate Cut Will Come Next: Bank Of America

Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.