US Inflation Cools to 3.4% as Fed Weighs September Rates

Prices for things we buy go up every year, and that is called inflation.

The government checks how much prices go up and said that in July they went up 3.4% compared to a year ago.

That is less than before, so inflation is cooling down.

Prices for food and gas change quickly, so experts also look at a special number without them, which went up 2.5%.

The Federal Reserve is the group that tries to keep prices from rising too fast.

Right now it is keeping its interest rate the same, which makes borrowing money more expensive and helps slow price increases.

Some people at the Fed think prices are still too high and want to raise the rate again.

Others think prices are easing and the Fed should wait.

Traders, who bet on what the Fed will do, mostly think the rate will stay the same at the next meeting in mid-September.

But they still think there is a good chance it could go up before the end of the year.