Tracking inflation

The Labor Department delivers its latest monthly index of inflation at the consumer level Wednesday.

Americans continue to face higher costs, reflected in a run of sharp annual increases in the consumer price index since summer last year. Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 9.1% in June from a year earlier, the biggest yearly increase since 1981, with energy costs driving much of the gain. Economists predict the consumer price index rose 8.7% in the 12 months ended in July.