☰
HomeLiving Beyond BordersGZERO WorldSignalIn 60 SecondsPuppet RegimeGZERO World PodcastContact UsAbout UsCareersPrivacy PolicyTerms

US inflation falls to three-year low

August 15, 2024
Stephen Maher
​Shopping in a Whole Foods Market supermarket in New York on Monday, August 12, 2024.
Shopping in a Whole Foods Market supermarket in New York on Monday, August 12, 2024.
(ÂPhoto by Richard B. Levine)
Annual US inflation came in at 2.9% in July, the lowest level since March 2021, according to numbers released Wednesday. The news will bolster the case for the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September, and could provide a boost for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

A closer look: Annual core inflation — which strips out volatile energy and food costs — fell from from 3.3 to 3.2 since June, suggesting pandemic-era supply constraints continue to ease. Grocery prices rose only 1.1% and gas prices fell 2.2% over the past year.

These trends mirror what’s happening north of the border, where falling inflation allowed the Bank of Canada to begin cutting rates this summer for the first time in four years.

The political impact: Falling inflation should in principle be good news for American Democrats and Canadian Liberals, since incumbents are typically held to account for economic perceptions. That said, Justin Trudeau’s polling numbers are so bad right now it’s hard to see what, if anything, could temper the negative vibes around him.

For Kamala Harris, meanwhile, the numbers provide a fresh tailwind as she flies into North Carolina for her economic policy rollout speech on Friday.

More from GZERO Media

Microsoft’s Environmental Sustainability Report 2025

Microsoft

Five years ago, Microsoft set bold 2030 sustainability goals: to become carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste—all while protecting ecosystems. That commitment remains—but the world has changed, technology has evolved, and the urgency of the climate crisis has only grown. This summer, Microsoft launched the 2025 Environmental Sustainability Report, offering a comprehensive look at the journey so far, and how Microsoft plans to accelerate progress. You can read the report here.

Hard Numbers: Armenia reaffirms ties with Iran, Congo and M23 rebels miss peace deadline, Lesotho looks for new markets, and Trump takes aim at mail-in ballots

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian shake hands as they meet with the media to make a joint statement following their talks in Yerevan, Armenia, August 19, 2025.
Hayk Baghdasaryan/Photolure via REUTERS

$3 billion: Armenia and Iran pledged to triple bilateral trade to $3 billion this week, just days after Yerevan inked a US-brokered peace deal with Azerbaijan.

Three months since the Kashmir conflict: Is it Pakistan’s moment?

An Indian paramilitary soldier guards a road during India's 79th Independence Day celebrations in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on August 15, 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi issues a stern warning to Pakistan, stating that India will not tolerate nuclear blackmail anymore and will give a befitting reply to the enemy. He asserts that India has now set a ''new normal'' of not differentiating between terrorists and those who nurture terrorism.
Photo by Firdous Nazir/NurPhoto

For four days in May, two nuclear rivals stood at the brink of a potentially catastrophic escalation, one that could impact a fifth of the world’s population.

Hard Numbers: Bolivia’s left-wing streak ends, small boats continue sailing to the UK, Canadians strike, Africa wants to put its real size on the map

People celebrate after early official results show Bolivian presidential candidate Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga of the conservative Alianza Libre coalition in second place, and as the ruling party Movement for Socialism (MAS) was on track to suffer its worst electoral defeat in a generation, in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, August 17, 2025.
REUTERS/Ipa Ibanez

20: The centrist Rodrigo Paz and the conservative Jorge Quiroga advanced to Bolivia’s presidential runoff election after winning the most votes in Sunday’s first round, ensuring that a left-wing politician won’t occupy the country’s presidency for the first time in 20 years.

In Sudan, the skies have turned deadly

Enaam Abdallah Mohammed, 19, a displaced Sudanese woman and mother of four, who fled with her family, looks on inside a camp shelter amid the ongoing conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, in Tawila, North Darfur, Sudan July 30, 2025.
REUTERS
About UsCareers PressContact Us Privacy PolicyTerms of Use
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.